Destiny Can Wait Five Hundred Years
by Eialyne
Summary: What if Kagome had never gone down the well? Would Inuyasha still be pinned to the tree in modern times? What about about the rest of the group, what would have become of them? This story tells what might have been. Rated for language, and some violence.
1. Prologe

**Disclaimer**: "Inuyasha" and any characters and etc. relating to it are property of its writer and creator, Rumiko Takahashi.

**Authors Note:** In this story, quite a few passages will be directly from the Inuyasha series, I'll have an author's note at the beginning or end of each chapter saying where these passages are in the chapter. For example, the Prologue of "Destiny Can Wait Five Hundred Years" is almost entirely from the first chapter of the first volume of "Inuyasha." If anyone wishes to skip it, that's fine, the new bit is toward the end.

**Prologue: The Catfood Paradox**

Kagome held up the keychain with a purple marble at the end. "People will actually buy these?" the young woman asked her grandfather, looking at the towers of merchandise the Dusk Shrine sold to make money.

"Listen, Kagome, the Shikon no Tama's history starts with..." Kagome tuned her grandfather out. He was always going on about myths and legends, few of which she hadn't heard many times before.

"Do you remember what day it is tomorrow?" she interrupted.

"Heh, I've no reason to forget my adorable grandchild's birthday," he said in a jokingly offended voice. He pulled a wrapped box out from behind him. "It might be a day early, but Happy Birthday Kagome."

Kagome's look of glee disappeared as she looked at the withered, green hand in the box. "Uh..."

"That mummified kappa hand brings good luck, it's history starts with..." As her grandfather went on rambling again, Kagome handed the gift to her large cat, Buyo, for a snack. "Ah! Do you know how much that cost?!"

_That's all my life is about..._Kagome thought. _Myths this, legends that...must just be one of those things that comes with living at a shrine. _She shifted her bag into a more comfortable position on her shoulders and headed out the door. "I'm off!" she yelled back inside.

When outside, Kagome saw her younger brother, Souta, over by the well house, staring in through the doors. "You shouldn't play in the mini-shrine," Kagome called, moving towards him.

"But Buyo is..." Souta looked worried.

"Inside the well?" Kagome finished for him. The two of them moved inside and stared down at the short staircase at the well. "So why don't you go down?" she asked.

Souta kept staring. "But this place, feels...kinda creepy."

"What's frightening you? You're the guy, I should be the scared one."

The two of them jumped as scraping noises filled the air. Souta ducked behind his sister. "So-someone's down there..."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Maybe...I dunno...the cat?" she said sarcastically.

"Buyo! Breakfast!" Kagome, who had just started down the stairs gave a yelp as a brown and while shape darted out. Stumbling slighty, she grabbed at the railing, hitting her side in the process, trying to regain her balance.

"Onee-san?" Souta called from the well house entrance, "Are you ok?"

"Fine," Kagome grumbled. "I told you it was just the cat. Now let's go before we're late to school."

As the two left the shrine, Kagome couldn't help shake the feeling that there was something she needed to do.


	2. The God Tree

**Chapter 1: The God Tree**

"Mama! I'm back!" Kagome waited for her mother's greeting, but heard none. _Must be out..._she thought, going up to her room to change out of her school uniform and get started on her homework.

It had been several days since the well house incident and Kagome still felt like there was something she had to do. This was now accompanied by a pain in her side that she assumed was from when she had tripped over Buyo.

For about two hours, Kagome tried to focus on her homework, but none of it seemed to make sense to her that night. Drumming her pencil on her open math book, Kagome gazed outside. She could see a bit of the Sacred God Tree out the window and sighed.

If only she could go back in time where she didn't have to worry about school work. She remembered how she used to love playing under the tree when she was younger. One of her favorite games was to try and find pictures in the patterns on the tree's trunk. Sometimes she would pretend they formed the face of the demon that has supposedly been sealed in the trunk hundreds of years ago.

"Maybe I could think better if I worked outside tonight," Kagome mused. Picking up her books, she headed outside.

"Kagome? Is that you?" Her grandfather came out into the hallway as she passed his room.

"What is it jii-chan?" Kagome asked, pausing.

"If you're going outside, could you sweep the walkway around the Sacred Tree? It's getting dusty."

Kagome groaned, "I though that was your job."

"A young man is looking for a job at a local shrine, and someone recommended him here." Her grandfather explained, "I'm meeting him soon to decide if I will hire him or not."

Kagome sighed and went to go look for the broom.

Finally outside, Kagome set her books down on a nearby bench and started sweeping the dust and leaves off the walkway leading to the huge tree.

Looking up at the canopy, Kagome closed her eyes; being under the tree had always made her feel peaceful. She stood there for a few minutes, enjoying the peacefulness before resuming her sweeping duties. As she got closer to the tree, she looked at it. It was clearly the tallest tree in Tokyo, reaching high above Kagome's head. The top 2/3 of the trunk was straight and clear of branches until it split at the top to form the leafy canopy. The base of the trunk however, was covered in a tangled mess of thick vines and other plants. Some of the shrine's visitors didn't like this mess of vegetation and wondered why Kagome's family didn't prune it. Her grandfather would reply with some sort of superstition, but Kagome thought the knot-work added beauty to the tree.

Kagome suddenly stopped. _What was that? I could have sworn I saw a flash of red. _Stepping over the small fence around the tree, she started looking for the color she had seen. After a few seconds, she found it. A scrap of red cloth was stuck between some of the vines. _Better get that out...must have been blown in and it snagged on something._ Grabbing the fabric, she gave a tug.

It didn't move. She gave it another tug, and another. Eventually, she was mentally yelling at the fabric. With one last angry yank, the cloth finally gave way and Kagome fell backwards.

"Ow!" Grimacing, she stood up and looked at the fabric. It was lightweight, but seemed extremely durable and hard to damage. _Odd...I've never seen fabric like this before...I wonder where it came from._ She stuck it in her pocket to ask her mother or grandfather about it later, picked up the broom, and continued sweeping.

When Kagome finally finished, she picked up her books, stepped over the fence again, and climbed a short way up the vine tangles to a spot that formed a type of seat. "Alright, time to get this work done," she said to herself.

Half an hour later, Kagome hadn't gotten anywhere and had fallen asleep.

_Where am I?_ She thought, looking around. She seemed to be in an open field, trees on one side and an old fashioned village in the distance. Looking down at herself, she saw her clothes had changed. Instead of the large t-shirt and old shots she had been wearing, they had been replaced by a wide sleeved white shirt and billowing red pants. It was a priestess's outfit.

Kagome then realized she was holding something in her hands. Holding it up, she saw a large, purple ball of some sort on a string of pointed white stones. _Now where have I seen something like this before? _Kagome mused. _Oh yeah! The key-chains jii-chan is going to sell at the shrine._

Suddenly Kagome felt an intense pain cut into her back. She let out a cry and fell to the ground. She felt someone stomp on the hand the jewel was in. Her grasp weakened on it as she cringed with pain. Her attacker bent down and grabbed the Jewel.

"Fool, I didn't even remotely consider becoming human."

_What is he talking about?_ Kagome wondered, struggling to look up at the stranger, but all she could manage to see was a barefoot, red clad leg.

"Thanks a bunch for presenting me with the Jewel," the voice said sarcastically.

Kagome's sight was going blurry. "How could you?" she heard herself saying.

"Heh! This Jewel...I gotta let it suck up more bitter blood." Kagome barely made out her attacker moving away. "I'll kill that lot in the village."

_I don't know what's going on..._Kagome thought, struggling to get up, _but I can't let whoever that was ill innocent people. _But she didn't have the strength and collapsed into the ground.

The next thing Kagome was aware of, she was stumbling through the village she had seen earlier, a bow in her right hand and the other was held up to the wounds she had received before.

The village was in mass chaos, buildings were destroyed and people were running amok. Quite a few of them were running up to her, obviously worried about her, but she shrugged them off. There was something she had to do before her strength left her..._But what is it?_ Kagome asked herself.

Eventually she reached a forest at the outer edge of the village. Looking through the trees, she saw something moving quickly between them. She drew an arrow from the quiver, which Kagome noticed just then, and notched it to the bow. Taking aim, she fired. Kagome felt her mouth moving, but she couldn't hear what she was saying.

Her arrow hit the target, pinning it to the tree behind him. Using her bow as a crutch, she struggled over to the tree. As she got closer, she could tell it was the same person from before, but her sight was getting blurry again and she couldn't make out his face. She did see the jewel he had taken from her laying in a pool of blood. "The Shikon Jewel..."

_So I was right, it is the same as the things jii-chan is going to sell,_ she thought to herself, as she picked the gem up.

Kagome now noticed villagers gathering around her. Most noticeably was a little girl with a bandage over one of her eyes. "Onee-sama, you need help..."

_Now comes the happy ending and I wake up,_ Kagome thought to herself.

"I'm already too far gone. Listen carefully, Kaede..." she heard herself saying to the young girl. She held the Jewel out to her, "this...must be burnt with my remains."

_Burnt?!_

"So that it shall never fall into the hands of evil again."

The next thing Kagome saw were flames leaping high around her and a burning feeling on her skin.

"No!"

Kagome gave a yell and felt a falling sensation.

"Yah!"

She reached out and grabbed at the air. Her hands came in contact with something wooden and she stopped falling.

Finally opening her eyes, Kagome saw a wooden wall in front of her. "What the-?"

After staring for a few seconds, she realized what had happened. Her dream had scared her into falling off her position on the vines and she was hinging from one of them now. Since the vines didn't go extremely high off the ground, she only had to drop a very short distance.

About to do just that, Kagome felt something between the two vines her right hand was caught between. She reached her hand further in and felt something. _Feathers?_ Feeling around some more, she felt a thin object that the feathers seemed attached to. _Almost like an...arrow..._

Noticing the sky was getting dark, Kagome decided to investigate it later. She pulled herself up a bit to grab her books and then dropped to the ground. As she bent down to pick up the broom, she paused and looked at her right hand. It was...

...glowing.

_What the hell is going on? _Turning back to the tree, Kagome made up her mind to check out the arrow now, not later. Putting her books down, Kagome was about to climb the vines again when she felt someone put their arm around her shoulders.

"You must be Kagome-san," an unknown voice commented.

Kagome let out a yell, spun around, and brought the broom (which she had been about to lean against the tree) down on the strangers head.

Author's Note: Alrighty, time to reveal which part of the chapter I didn't write so I don't get in trouble. Kagome's dream was written from the very first few pages of Inuyasha, and later flashbacks from the series which reveals Kikyou's point of view.


	3. The Strange Fabric and the Odd Employee

**Chapter 2: The Strange Fabric and the Odd Employee**

"Oww! You have quite an arm there."

Kagome, broom still raised, stared at the man on the ground rubbing his head. He seemed to be relatively young, only a few years older than her. His dark hair was short, but she could tell it was long in the back. Dressed in jeans and a shirt with a light jacket over it, he seemed like a local university student. _But what would he be doing at the shrine this late at night? And how did he know my name? What if he's a stalker?!_

Giving the man one last whack with the broom, to make sure he stayed down, Kagome ran at breakneck speed back to the house.

"Mama! There's a stalker following me!" she shrieked, almost bursting through the doors to the dining room.

"Slow down dear, I can't understand you," her mother said soothingly as she stood up from the table to see what was wrong.

In a rush, Kagome described the person and how he knew her name. When she finished, her grandfather spoke up. "Don't mind him, Kagome."

Kagome felt her eye twitch. "I was almost attacked and all you can say is 'Don't mind him, Kagome,'?!"

Her grandfather calmly continued eating dinner. "That was Miruk, the young man I told you I was meeting with today. We sent him out to get you so you wouldn't miss dinner."

Kagome stared at him. _You mean I knocked out someone jii-chan hired to work at the shrine? That might cause a few problems._

Kagome's mother volunteered to go make sure Miruk was alright while Kagome sat down, staring at the table.

When her mother and Miruk came in, a few minutes later, Kagome stood up and bowed. "I apologize for my reaction earlier."

"It's alright," said Miruk, grinning slightly, "Most women I meet have similar reactions." He sat down in the empty space across form Kagome.

Dinner was a silent occasion. Kagome was still a bit embarrassed about before, and nobody else seemed to have anything to say. Suddenly, Kagome remembered her dream and the strange fabric she found.

Deciding against mentioning the dream (her grandfather might try to exorcise spirits out of her like he did when she was five); she pulled the scrap out and handed it to her mother. "Mama, have you seen anything like this before?"

Her mother inspected it. "No, I've never seen cloth this durable before." She looked at Kagome, "where did you find it?"

"Caught in the vines around the Tree, Kagome stated.

"It might belong to the demon inside," her grandfather suggested. "If it is, you should put it back before it curses you."

"How can a demon curse Kagome if it's sealed in a sacred object?" Souta asked.

Miruk took the scrap from Kagome's mother, and inspected it closely. "It reminds me of the legends my parents would tell me of fire rat cloaks." He looked up at Mrs. Higarashi. "Would you happened to have a lighter or a match I could use?"

Nodding, she stood up and disappeared into the kitchen.

"You're gonna burn it?" Souta asked, looking excited.

Miruk nodded. "Fire rat cloaks can repel fire, and I want to see if that is what this is."

Kagome sighed. _Horary, another person who believes in the old myths._

When Mrs. Higarashi returned with a box of matches, Miruk took one and lit it. He dangled the fabric over the flame.

Kagome, whose hand had been near her glass in case Miruk caught fire, gasped. The fabric, instead of catching fire, flapped slightly as the flame moved around it.

"Well, seems like you've made some sort of discovery, Kagome," her mother said as Miruk put the flame out.

"Yes, imagine finding something as rare as that at our shrine," her grandfather said excitedly.

"Can I have it?" Souta asked.

"I believe the one who found it should keep it," replied Miruk. He gave the fire rat fabric to Kagome. "Maybe it'll bring you luck." He flashed a grin at her that reminded her of when she saw guys flirting with her friends.

_That might explain the whole arm over the shoulder thing, _she thought, _thank goodness he won't be living with us._

"Oh yes, I almost forgot," her grandfather spoke up, "Miruk, it won't do for you to be constantly going back and forth between your apartment and the shrine. Would it be a problem if you moved here? We have a spare room that you could use."

_Gah!_

"Thank you, but I don't wish to be intruding."

_Thank you, God._

"Don't be silly," Mrs. Higarashi said, "working at a shrine is an almost twenty four hour job."

_Mama!_

_So I guess some myths do have facts behind them, _Kagome thought to herself.

It was sometime after dinner, and Mrs. Higarashi was showing Miruk to his new room, Souta was playing one of his video games, Jii-chan was re-reading the day's newspaper, and Kagome was taking a bath.

She grabbed the scrap from where she had left it on the side of the tub.

_Or maybe Miruk is just a very good magician._ She still found it hard to believe cloth of any sort could repel fire.

She put the scrap back and leaned back in the tub. _Tomorrow after school I'll go look around the Tree some more._

Just as she was about to drift off into a half-sleep when she heard something from beyond the door. It sounded like the popping noise that joints make occasionally when stiff. Grabbing a towel and wrapping it around herself, Kagome stepped out of the tub and flung open the door.

Nobody was there.

_Huh...I could have sworn someone was hanging around outside the door. _Moving back inside to grab her things, Kagome then headed to her room for bed.

When she was gone, Miruk dropped down from the ceiling where he had pressed between the two hallway walls. Whistling, he headed off towards the room he was staying in.


	4. A Demon Unleashed

**Chapter 3: A Demon Unleashed**

"So, who was the guy Sen said she saw you talking to before you left for school?"

Kagome looked at Eri. "What gu-oh..." She frowned slightly. "His name's Miruk. Jii-chan hired him to help out at the shrine. And I swear he's following me."

"He's following you?" Yuki asked. "Does your mother know you've got a stalker?"

Kagome and her three friends were jogging around the school track during their athletics class. The weather had been pretty bad in the few days that had passed since Miruk had come to live at the Dusk Shrine, and Kagome was glad for a chance to be outside and talking to her friends, although she wasn't too fond of the current topic.

"I didn't say he was a stalker, I said I just have a _feeling_ that he's following me."

"Maybe he likes you," said Arimi, always the romantic.

"I highly doubt that," Kagome replied.

"Too bad he doesn't, then we could enjoy watching you decide between two guys," Eri said.

"_Two _guys?" Kagome looked puzzled.

"I guess he hasn't asked you yet then," Arimi said. "We overheard Houjou-kun saying that he was going to ask you if you wanted to go on a date with him next weekend."

Kagome stopped running for a moment, "You must have misunderstood him, why would the most popular guy in school want to go out with me?"

"You're not as unpopular as you think you are," Yuki told her when Kagome caught up.

Sure enough, Houjou caught up with Kagome after school.

"Kagome-chan!" He waved at her as Yuki, Arimi, and Eri giggled and nudged her forward. "I was wondering if you might want to go to dinner or something tomorrow."

"Ah...well...sure," Kagome stammered.

Houjou grinned. "I'll see you around six, ok?"

"Sounds good."

As Houjou walked off, Kagome's friends came up to her. "What did we tell you?" Arimi said with a smug look on her face.

That night, Kagome woke up panting. She had had the same dream for the past few nights, and it was starting to worry her.

_Maybe I am cursed,_ she thought, thinking about what her grandfather had said and looking at the fire rat fabric that was on her nightstand. _Then again..._she started to consider what Miruk had said, _I am going on my first date tomorrow night,_ she looked at her clock, _well...technically tonight._

Trying to go back to sleep, and failing, Kagome decided to take a quick walk outside.

_I'm probably just nervous,_ Kagome thought as she stepped out the door. _Houjou's really popular and about two thirds of the female population at school has or had a crush on him._

Looking up, she discovered that she had approached the God Tree. It looked more creepy than comforting in the darkness.

_Now might be a good time to take a closer look at that arrow. _Kagome hadn't had the time to investigate her other find, and half of that time she had forgotten about it.

She started to climb up the vines, looking for the gap she had first felt the feathers in. This proved harder than she had expected because her grandfather had apparently stuffed every space between the vines with talismans, charms, and seals.

After half an hour of searching, Kagome's hand felt what she was looking for. She gripped it in her hand, ready to try yanking it out.

In the next few seconds, two things happened. As soon as her hand tightened around the arrow, it started glowing blue again. Then she felt herself falling to the ground as Miruk tackled her, yelling "Don't!" She felt the arrow coming along with her.

"What was that for?" she yelled, tempted to whack Miruk with the arrow.

"It doesn't matter...you went ahead and did it," he replied, sounding worried.

"Did what?" Kagome shouted. She then let out a different sort of yell as the arrow suddenly dissolved into nothingness.

"That," Miruk said, staring at where the arrow used to be. The two of them whipped around as a muffled yelling could be heard from underneath the vines. "Congratulations Kagome, you've unleashed a terrible evil onto the world."

"Uh..." Normally, Kagome would have told Miruk he was crazy for believing the old legends and that there was a perfectly logical reason why the arrow disappeared or why her hand was glowing, but the snarls coming from the tree convinced her otherwise.

Suddenly, a loud cracking noise filled the air as large chunks of vines burst away from the Tree. Something red flashed across Kagome's vision before Miruk pushed her to the ground again.

"I know you're here Kikyou!" an enraged voice filled the night air, "Casting illusions won't help you!"

Shifting her head as best as she could, Kagome saw someone standing a short distance from the Tree. He, (at least she thought the person was a he, the voice sounded male) was dressed in red and had long, white hair. She couldn't see his face because his back was facing them, but she was sure a look of anger was on it due to his yelling. His hands were also curling into fists. She also noticed a hole near the hem of his right pant leg. _That must be..._

Her thoughts were cut off as the tree person cocked his head and sniffed. He then suddenly whipped around and Kagome caught sight of piercing yellow eyes before he let out a yell and lunged right at her and Miruk.

"Sankon Tessou!"

Kagome realized that the tree person _must_ be a demon, because he had moved so quickly and he was charging them down with claws.

She was so stunned by the fact that demons did in fact seem to exist. So startled, she didn't register the fact that a clawed, angry demon might intend to harm people until Miruk had dragged her out of the way again.

The demon ended up gorging a large hole in the ground. Skidding slightly and spinning around, he glared ruthlessly at the two humans, more specifically, at Kagome.

"What's the matter Kikyou?" he snarled. It took Kagome a second to realize he was talking to her. "Why are ya hiding behind that weakling? Can you only summon these illusions?" He gestured at the buildings and landscape around them. "Try and kill me if you can!"

"Uhhh..." Kagome was worried. If the demon wanted to kill this Kikyou person, why was he attacking her? "I'm not this Kikyou you're talking about," she said over Miruk's shoulder. "Go possess or kill her, or whatever you demons do!"

"Feh." The demon snarled. "You may be able to alter your looks slightly, but I'd recognize that scent anywhere!" He charged them again.

Miruk shifted and Kagome braced herself, thinking he was going to push her out of the way. When impact with the ground didn't come, she noticed that instead, Miruk had thrown a few of the paper talismans her grandfather used at the demon. Instead of the demon's claws tearing through the paper, the talismans stuck to the demon. Instantly he froze.

"What the hell?" The demon glared at Miruk. "Get these things offa me!"

"And risk you harming Kagome-san? I don't think so." The demon let out a string of curses. "I will put a seal on your mouth as well if you continue like that, demon," Miruk said calmly.

The demon growled quietly and his ears flattened.

Kagome blinked. _Ears?_

Now that her life wasn't in danger and the demon wasn't moving at impossibly fast speeds, Kagome could now see that instead of normal ears, he had two, pointed white ears poking through the hair at the top of his head. She moved out from behind Miruk and moved closer.

"Gonna finish me off now that I'm helpless?" the demon spat.

Kagome reached toward him.

"You're a coward."

Grabbing his ears, she started playing with them.

The demon glared at her. "Would you leave the damn ears along?"

"But they're so fuzzy!" Kagome said happily.

Miruk let out a snort.


	5. A Demon Ate My Homework

**Chapter 4: A Demon Ate My Homework**

**Author's Note**: As far as using bits from the original series, there are one or two little lines that are quoted from the manga/anime

"Maybe we could stick him in the well-house for now."

Kagome had finally gotten the need to play with the demon's ears out of her, and now she and Miruk were trying to figure out what to do with the now sulking demon.

"Your grandfather goes down there a lot," Miruk said, "he might accidentally free him."

"Don't you know how to banish or exorcise demons?" Kagome asked.

Miruk shrugged. "I've never tried it."

"Why don't you try now?"

"I don't think you can simply banish a powerful demon." Miruk seemed to be concentrating on something. "His demonic aura is powerful...but at the same time its not."

The demon mumbled something. "What was that?" Kagome asked. The demon simply glared at her. Kagome shrugged.

"Maybe you could try," Miruk suggested.

"Me?"

"It's worth a shot," Miruk said, "only someone with exceptionally strong spiritual powers could break that spell on the tree."

"Spiritual Powers? Me?" Kagome looked doubtful. "Even if I did have spiritual powers, I wouldn't know the first thing about banishing demons."

Miruk sighed. "I guess the best thing for us to do now is to put him in my room until I can figure out how to get rid of him."

The two of them lifted the demon up and carried him towards the house.

"Feh...the great Kikyou saying she doesn't know anything about getting rid of demons," the demon said disbelievingly.

Kagome tried to resist the urge to drop or thwap him. "Would you stop calling me that?" My name is Kagome, Ka...go...me!"

"Whatever, at lest stop these illusions."

Miruk spoke up from the front. "Obviously you don't realize how long you were pinned to that tree."

"Huh?"

"According to the God Tree's legend, you've been pinned to the tree for about 500 years."

The demon was silent for a shot time. "You're bluffing," he eventually said.

"Nope, everything has changed a lot since you were sealed."

The demon didn't reply.

_Must be a shock to discover everything you knew is long gone, _Kagome thought, feeling sorry for him and almost forgave him for attaching her.

They managed to get the demon to Miruk's room without anyone else seeing them. They stuck him on the bed.

"I have a question for ya," the demon said suddenly, "If it really has been 500 years since I was hit with that arrow, how come you're still her Kikyou?"

"I'M NOT KIKYOU!" Kagome yelled, grabbing a nearby table lamp and was about to bring it down on the demon's head, but Miruk grabbed her arm.

"Calm down, I'm sure there's a good reason why he thinks you are her, whoever she is."

Kagome grumbled, "As long as he doesn't attack me unprovoked again."

The demon mumbled something, but all Kagome caught was, "...attacked first."

Miruk headed for the door. "I'm going to go look through all those scrolls your grandfather has in the store house, there might be something we could use in there," he paused. "Could you keep an eye on him? Just in case your family comes in here?"

"Fine," snapped Kagome, shooting a look of pure evil at the demon.

After Miruk had left, Kagome decided to make a quick trip to her room. _If I do my homework or something, then I won't have to talk to or look at him._

This theory worked...for a little while.

"Hey."

Kagome ignored the demon.

"Hey!"

Ignored again.

"Oi! I'm talking to you!"

"Well, I'm not talking to you."

"What sort of spell are you working?"

Kagome looked at the book open in front of her. "It's not a spell, its Geometry."

"Gi-o-what?"

"I barely understand it myself, so I can't explain it to you."

Another long science followed, interrupted only by Kagome's scribbling.

"Oi!"

Kagome spun around again. "What now?"

"I'm beginning to think you really aren't Kikyou," the demon smirked, "she would have never been as rude as you."

"Agh! I'm so sick of you!" She flung her pencil at the demon, hitting him on the shoulder, and stormed out.

The demon, who had tried to duck forgetting the talismans still binding him, stared at the writing stick that was now lying on the bed in front of him. He could have sworn it had been glowing when it had left the girl's hand. He picked it up and looked at it. _Huh...not much of a weapon, but if it had hit my ey- _The demon stared at his left arm.

He could move again! Or at least an arm.

Locating the talisman that had been stuck to his shoulder, the demon realized what must have happened.

The writing stick had been infused with a strong spiritual power by the girl. When thrown, it had hit the talisman, breaking the seal.

While he couldn't escape on only one arm, the demon could try and figure out what sort of spell this "Gi o my tree" was.

Awkwardly using his free arm, the demon pushed himself off the bed, dragged himself across the floor, and pulled the book off the table.

_Must be some sort foreign language,_ the demon thought, trying to figure out what the book said.

"BEEP! BEEP! BEEEEEP!"

The demon's head jerked as a loud noise filled the air, making his ears throb.

_Agh! That book must have spell wards on it!_ The demon started thinking quickly through the pain and noise. _Maybe if I destroy it..._

Kagome walked in a few minutes later to turn off Miruk's alarm clock only to find the demon ripping pages out of her Geometry book and chewing on the cover.

Her eye twitched, the only sign that all hell was about to break loose.


	6. The Lavender Collar

**Chapter 5: The Lavender Collar**

Having knocked the demon out with a trash can, Kagome was gathering the remains of her homework when her mother called her and Souta to breakfast.

"What were you doing in Miruk's room?" Souta asked as she came out. Apparently he had heard crashing noises and had come to investigate.

"Umm..." Kagome thought quickly. She couldn't go telling her little brother that there was a demon in the house. "I was...uh...cleaning Miruk's room for him."

Souta looked at her, "Why?"

"I lost a bet?"

"What bet?"

"Uhhh...well, I'm famished, let's go get breakfast!" she said happily, pushing her brother along the hallway towards the kitchen.

"But I want to know what the bet was!" Souta protested.

"Then go as Miruk," Kagome replied. _Let him have to think on his feet like that._

She thought Miruk might have come in for breakfast, but he apparently was still looking around the storehouse and skipped it.

"I wonder where Miruk is," her mother said as they started cleaning their places, "it's not like him to skip a meal."

Souta spoke up, "Kagome might know, she was in his room earlier."

Her grandfather blinked. "You haven't even gone out on your first date with him and you're already cheating on that Houjou boy?"

"Jii-chan!" Kagome redden. "That's not what he meant!"

"Oh good, I was worried I might have to send him elsewhere if he was going after my granddaughter."

When the dining area was clean, Kagome headed back to Miruk's room to check on the demon; Buyo following. When they reached the door, Buyo paused. Suddenly, his ears flattened, his hair stood up, and he started hissing.

"What's the matter?" Kagome asked the cat, bending down to pet him.

Buyo swiped at her hand, gave another hiss at the door, and then bolted back towards the kitchen.

"Ow!" Kagome put the back of her hand to her mouth; it wasn't bleeding, but cat claws do hurt.

"What's with Buyo?" Kagome looked up and saw her brother, "the only time I've seen him like that is when Tonami brought his dog over two years ago." He looked at his sister, "are you and Miruk hiding a dog in there?"

"Uhh..." _Well, _she thought, remembering the demon's dog like ears, _not exactly. _To her brother, "No, no dogs here."

Souta tried to get around her, obviously not believing her. "Lemme see!"

"I told you, there is no dog!" Kagome said, trying to block him.

"Fine, there's no dog, but you're hiding something."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!" With a shove, Souta pushed Kagome into the door, causing it to open. The two of them fell into the room...

...landing directly on top of the demon.

"Would ya stop attacking me!" he yelled, obviously recovered from the trash can attack.

"Get offa me Souta!" Kagome yelled, trying to stand up.

"Uhh..." Souta was staring at the demon's ears.

"You would think he's never seen a demon before..." the demon said.

"Well, he hasn't," Kagome replied, "neither had I until you came along."

"But this village was always being attacked by demons."

Kagome snorted at the comparison of Tokyo to a village.

"Onee-san?" Souta had finally gotten off Kagome and was staring wide-eyed at the demon. "That's a...that's a...?"

_Ack! What if he goes and tells jii-chan?_ Kagome grabbed her brother by the shoulder and bent down to his level. "Don't be scared now...it can't hurt you-"

"Sugoi!"

"Huh?"

"He's so cool!" Kagome now realized that the wide-eyed look on his face was that of amazement rather than fear. "When'd you find him? Is he from the tree? Are we keeping him? Does he have fangs? Are those really dog ears? Can I play with him? What's his name?"

Kagome was used to these rapid fire questions, and when he ran out of breath, she replied just as quickly. "Early this morning, yes, no clue, yes, yes, no, haven't bothered to ask." She looked down at the demon. "What _is_ your name?"

The demon opened his mouth to reply, when Miruk came bursting into the room. "Inuyasha!"

Kagome looked at him, "Yes, we already figured out he's a dog demon."

"That's my name, baka," the demon growled from the floor.

"Oh, well, it suits you."

"Why're you keeping a demon in your room?"

"Because it's the only place we can-"Miruk paused and looked down at Souta. "Ummm...Kagome, I thought the point of hiding the demon was to prevent your family from discovering him?"

"I won't tell jii-chan or mama!" Souta said, "I promissssse!"

"Be sure you don't, otherwise I'll do something to your game system," Kagome threatened.

"I'll be good," Souta said, cowering slightly.

"Very good; now go somewhere else for a moment, I need to talk to Kagome," said Miruk.

Disappointed, Souta slowly moved to the door, but then looked back. "Can I please play with him later?"

"No!" Kagome yelled, slamming the door and locking it. She noticed Miruk and the dem- no, Inuyasha, staring at her. "What?"

"You can be pretty scary when mad," Miruk said.

"You mean this bitch has a nice side?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome shot him a look at the insult.

"Anyways..." Miruk started rummaging through a pile of scrolls that Kagome had just noticed.

_He must have brought those in with him._

I found information of some use, but first," Miruk turned to Inuyasha, "I assume you're getting uncomfortable in that position?"

"Nah, I'm quite comfortable staying in a half crouching position for several hours," the demon answered sarcastically.

Miruk shrugged and opened an ancient, drawstring bag. He pulled out a string of purple prayer beads, spaced with a few claw shaped white beads. He wrapped them between his fingers and looked at Kagome. "When I tell you to, Kagome, yell a subduing word at our friend here.

"Huh? Why me? And what's a subduing word?"

"Any word would do," Miruk jerked his head towards a small scroll on top of the pile, "and according to that, I think anyone can place the beads on the demon, but only a priestess can control him."

"But I'm not a priestess!" Kagome said, exasperated, as she picked up the scroll and started reading it.

_I came across the beads Onee-sama was working on before she died. I am sure that if that traitorous creature is ever unsealed, it would be best to have something of Onee-sama's to re-seal him me thinks..._

There was a little more, but it was too worn to read. The rest of the scroll's writing seemed a little shakey, as if the writer had gotten older.

..._realize that if Inuyasha is released, I might not be around when that time comes, especially with the illusion of a girl that looked like my sister spotted near the tree yesterday. I now write what must be done if that time comes; (_there were a lot of words Kagome didn't recognize);_ chant this and then, ye future priestess, throw the necklace around the creature and utter a word to subdue him._

"Well?" Miruk prompted, when Kagome put the scroll down.

"I don-"

"Alright then," Miruk said, ignoring her. He closed his eyes and started chanting what seemed to be the spoken version of the strange words in the scroll.

"But I didn't agree!" Kagome yelled.

Ignoring her, Miruk threw the necklace over the demon. It settled around his neck and briefly flashed purple.

"Alright Kagome, say a-"Miruk suddenly stopped as the remaining talismans binding Inuyasha fluttered off him. "Uhh..." Miruk looked worried as the demon flexed a hand and smiled evilly at them. "I hoped that wouldn't happen."

Kagome twitched. "You went along with an idea that could end up killing us?!"

"This should be fun," the demon said.

"Kagome! Now!" Miruk yelled as the demon tensed up, preparing to jump.

"Um...uh..." _Subduing word...demon...dog demon...dog..._

"Osawari!" She yelled, with Inuyasha halfway through his jump.

The necklace glowed purple again, and the demon was suddenly slammed into the floor.

"What tha hell?" Pushing himself off the floor, Inuyasha grabbed the beads and tried to yank them off. "Get these damn things offa me!"

"No can do," said Miruk.

"Why you..." the demon lunged at him.

"Osawari!"

"Shit."

"Osawari!"

"Gah!"

"Osawari!"

"Urk!"

"OSAWARI!!"

"Stop it." The demon managed to squeak out.

"This is fun," said Kagome, grinning.

Author's Note: A few lines and situations were originaly from the early original story


	7. Dreams and a Demon's Past

**Author's Note: O**ne brief situation from the series.

**Chapter 6: Dreams and a Demon's Past**

"So what are all these?" Kagome asked, indicating the scrolls piled on Miruk's bed.

The two had just chased away Kagome's mother after she had come by to investigate the loud noises (they blamed it on a shelf falling down) and Kagome was interested on what else Miruk might have found. 

"Accounts from a priestess living here five hundred years ago. They include quite a bit of interesting information about our friend here." 

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, who was still lying on the ground in a bit of pain. "You mean the 'traitorous creature?'"

Miruk nodded. He pulled out one of the scrolls and unrolled it. "It seems that Inuyasha was attached to another priestess who lived here..."

"A demon loving a human?" Kagome looks surprised.

"Well...he's not a demon," Miruk said. "He's a hanyou, a half-demon." 

"Something I don't really want blabbed to the whole world," snapped Inuyasha. He had pulled himself into a sitting position that made him look even more doglike.

"Anyways," Miruk continued, "this priestess was the protector of the powerful object known as the Shikon no Tama."

Kagome felt a tingle go up her back and a faint ache in her side. 

"According to these scrolls, which were written by the priestess's younger sister, who became a priestess after her, Inuyasha came looking for the Jewel in order to become a full demon. For some reason, the priestess did not kill him like she had done to other demons who had come seeking the Jewel. In time, the two began to trust each other." 

Inuyasha's ears twitched and Kagome swore a look of sadness had flashed across his face before it returned to a blank expression.

"One day, the priestess went to meet Inuyasha, taking the Jewel with her. Unfortunately-"

"Inuyasha betrayed her, fatally wounding her. She went back to the village and shot him, pinning him to the Tree. She then took the Jewel with her to the other side," Kagome finished, tingling all over.

Miruk blinked, "Yes, but..."

"I never betrayed her! Kikyo betrayed _ME_!" Inuyasha yelled angrily.

"Kikyo's the priestess you betrayed?" Kagome asked.

"I just said I didn't be-"

Miruk held up a hand, "One moment and then we will hear your side of the story." He turned to Kagome, "how did you know how Kikyo died."

Kagome hesitated. "I dreamed it, several times actually, but I saw what happened through Kikyo's eyes."

Miruk nodded. "And Inuyasha, why did you call Kagome by the priestess's name?"

"She's got the same looks, and an almost identical smell," Inuyasha replied.

"That explains why Kagome could have broken the arrow's seal so easily..." Miruk muttered.

"Why?" 

"Kagome, I think you might be Kikyo's reincarnation."

"Uhhh..." 

"If her dream was a memory or something like that," Inuyasha started, "then why didn't she dream about what really happened? She attacked me first, not the other way around."

"Please elaborate," Miruk said.

"The scrolls are right about one thing, I used to love Kikyo, enough to change my original plans," he did not say what he changed his plans to, "we agreed to meet each other, her bringing the Jewel with her. But," his eyes narrowed, "while I was waiting, she attacked me from behind. Realizing how stupid it was to have trusted a human, I went back to the village for the Jewel. When I was making my escape, I suddenly found myself pinned to a tree and the Jewel flying out of my grasp. And there was Kikyo...I slipped into unconsciousness after that. The next thing I remember is waking up, bound in wood."

_The vines on the Tree_, Kagome realized.

"You didn't notice that Kikyo was wounded?" Miruk asked.

Inuyasha shrugged.

"Well, I see two possibilities," Miruk said, "either Inuyasha is lying to make Kagome and I take his side and trust him so he can escape easier, or something else happened that night to make him and Kikyo betray each other."

"And what does that have to do with me possibly being a reincarnation of a dead priestess?" Kagome asked.

Miruk shrugged, "Maybe something was supposed to happen five hundred years ago and destiny decided to wait 'till Kikyo came back. Or at least her spirit."

The rest of the day passed very slowly for Kagome. A lot had happened that morning, and it gave her a lot to think about.

_I was never sure whether reincarnation was real or not...but what if I am the reincarnation of this Priestess? Ugh...I hope it doesn't mean_ I _will fall in love with Inuyasha_.

She was back in her room, attempting to tape her Geometry book back together.

Looking out the window, Kagome looked at the Tree._ It's going to take a while to get used to seeing it without the vines...oh-no!_

She and Miruk hadn't discussed how to explain the chunks of vines lying around the base of the Tree. She dropped her book on the desk and out of her room and down the hallway.

"Miruuuuuuuk!" 

Miruk stuck his head out of his door. "What's wrong?"

"The Tree...the vines...jii-chan and mama!"

A look flashed across Miruk's face. "I hadn't thought of that," he looked back into the room, "Inuyasha, would you help clean up the mess of the vines that you made?"

"What if I don't wanna?" Kagome heard the demon's voice coming from inside.

"Osa-" 

"All right! Fine! Just don't abuse that power of yours!"

Miruk came out of the room. "Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome asked as he closed the door.

"He went via the window."

The two of them snuck past the kitchen (where Kagome's mother was cleaning) and the family room (where Kagome's grandfather was wringing up a new supply of talismans) to the front door.

Inuyasha was waiting for them by the Tree. "What took ya so long?" he asked.

"Unlike you, we can't survive a jump out of a second story window like you can," Miruk answered.

"So whadya want me to do?"

"Pick up the vine pieces and..." Miruk paused. Obviously he didn't know what to do with the remains once they had been picked up. 

"Dump 'em in the well?" Kagome suggested.

"Only idea we have."

For the next hour or two, the three picked up vine chunks. Inuyasha getting the larger and heavier ones, Kagome and Miruk the lighter and smaller ones. Kagome thought Miruk would have asked her to take the seal her grandfather had on the well cover off, but he simply removed the cover and ignored the seal.

While he dumped his first armful of vines in, Kagome asked him about it. Miruk laughed. "Honestly, I think even a full-blooded demon could have removed the cover. Your grandfather has very little, if any, power."

_That would explain some things._

Bit by bit, the courtyard was cleared of debris left by Inuyasha's awakening. The work wore out Kagome, and by the time they were done, she was tempted to fall asleep right then and there. But there was one more problem that needed to be dealt with.

"How will we prevent jii-chan and mama from noticing the missing vines?" 

Miruk yawned. "We'll think of something. Right now I feel like an afternoon nap."

Silently, Kagome agreed and a few minutes later she had fallen asleep on her bed back in her room.

_Am I dreaming again?_ She wondered. _Or remembering past memories, or whatever these are?_

She was in the same priestess outfit she had been wearing in the dreams she was having almost every night.

Although instead of standing in a clearing with the Shikon no Tama, she was standing at the edge of a forest, bow in hand. She was obviously waiting for something.

Almost instantly, a tell-tale flash of red zoomed across her vision. One after another, she fired four arrows towards the color. A cry of outrage was heard.

Kagome walked over to a tree a short distance away. Inuyasha was pinned against its trunk, one arrow in each of his sleeves and pant's legs. "Why don't you just kill me?" He growled at her.

"I have no need to," Kagome replied, looking at him. Without another word, she turned and walked away.

The dream then jumped to the now familiar dream of betrayal, although this time, Kagome knew who's leg she saw crushing her hand, what the face of the person pinned to the tree looked like, and what she was yelling as she let loose her arrow.

"Die Inuyasha!"

Down the hall in Miruk's room, he was having dreams, although quite different than Kagome's.

"You know, I could always take turns dating you all," he told the group of ladies surrounding him. They blushed and giggled.

Miruk's dreams were usually always along these lines. Groups of women fawning over him.

It was then he noticed something different about the dream. The women were wearing what looked like ancient noble lady's kimonos and they were standing at the front door of what looked like a palace. They giggled again. "But hoshi-sama, shouldn't you get rid of the demon before making promises like that?"

_Hoshi?_ Miruk blinked. _I just work at a shrine and know a few spells, when did I become a monk?_ He looked down at his clothes and discovered that, sure enough, he was wearing the black and purple outfit of a monk from long ago. _Well, this is the first dream I've had about the past._

To the women, he replied "Do not worry, I will be able to expel this demon from your household with ease."

More giggling. "Do that and one of us will be glad to bare you a child."

_Eh? Well, this is another dream first._

Miruk was about to head inside the palace when he felt a strange feeling in his right arm. Looking down again, he saw that the arm in question seemed to be wrapped in an arm guard and prayer beads.

The odd thing was that something seemed to be tugging the fabric inward near his palm.

"Ladies, pleas get yourself to safety inside!" Miruk heard himself yelling as he turned and ran towards the palace gates. _Not now!_ a little corner of his mind cried, _it can't end with me!_ For some reason, he made sure his hand pointed downward.

By the time he made it past the gates, it felt like a strong gale was pulling him down to the ground.

Suddenly he stopped as the cloth and prayer beads came off of his hand. Almost instantly, large chunks of the ground jumped up at him...

...and disappeared into his right hand!

_What the hell?_

Miruk tried to move his hand, but the force of the wind's pull kept it in place.

When the hole in the road was about knee-deep, even more was added to the nightmare.

The void, or whatever it was, started to expand. Miruk's eyes widened with horror as first his fingers, and then his entire hand disappeared.

Soon, almost his entire arm had been consumed.

Hearing laughter, Miruk noticed a shape in the nearby trees. "I was interested how many generations the curse would last."

"Damn you Naraku!" Miruk heard himself yelling.

Inuyasha was leaning up against a wall, watching Miruk sleep.

_Must be having a nightmare,_ he thought as Miruk moaned and clutched his arm. He didn't bother to wake him though. Anytime in the past when he had tired to awaken someone from a nightmare, they panicked even more when they saw a demon bending over them.

_Although that girl did say she had never seen a demon before_...a sudden thought entered Inuyasha's mind, _what if I'm the only being with demon blood left?_

Downtown in Tokyo, a young man stood outside a restaurant, periodically checking his watch.

Eventually, he headed to the nearest train station. "She must've had something come up," Houjou said to himself.


	8. Festivals and Fire Cats Part One

Author's note: Sorry for taking so long, I've had this typed for a while, but just wouldn't let me update.

**Chapter 7: Festivals and Fire Cats (Part One)**

"I'm so sorry about that, I was...um...sick."

Inuyasha stopped outside the door that Miruk had indicated to be Kagome's. _Why is she talking to herself?_

"Yeah, you can just ask my mother, I was asleep for most of the evening."

Inuyasha cautiously nudged the door open. From the crack in the doorway, he could see Kagome's profile, chatting away to midair. _No, not to midair..._ He could now hear another voice. It was very faint, which was why he couldn't hear it through the door. _Communing with spirits?_

"Well, unless you're going to be helping your grandfather at the festival next week, maybe we could go together."

"Sure, sounds fun." Kagome moved out of view. "I'll see you at school tomorrow then." There was a faint click. "Alright, no more distractions...I need to sit down and-"

Inuyasha twitched as he slammed into the floor.

The door opened and Inuyasha could see Kagome's slipperd feet appear in front of him. "What are you doing outside my door?"

"Owww..."

"Get up and get in here before jii-chan or mama comes around."

Inuyasha limped into her room and Kagome shut the door.

"I'll ask again, what were you doing outside my door?"

"Why were you talking with a spirit?" Inuyasha replied.

"Huh?" Kagome looked puzzled for a moment. "Oh...I was just talking on the phone."

"Fone?"

Kagome picked up a rectangular object that was connected to a stand of some sort by a piece of curly rope. "Phone, a thing that allows you to talk to other people over a great distance."

"Is it magic?"

"No, its...well, never mind," Kagome put the phone back on its stand. "I answered your question, now you answer mine."

Inuyasha pulled a crumpled sheet of paper out of his shirt. "Miruk wants you to put these around the ne-bor-od." Inuyasha pulled a crumpled sheet of paper out of his shirt.

"The what?"

"Ne-bor-od. He says it's like a village."

"Oh, the neighborhood," Kagome took the flyer and skimmed it. Apparently Miruk and her grandfather were going to be doing free exorcisms during the festival._ Miruk must've talked him into it, jii-chan never does anything for free._

"...me, also."

Kagome looked up. "What?"

"Miruk also said you should take me."

"What?! I thought we weren't supposed to let you out."

"Something about needing to know what Japan is like now."

Kagome tried to get out of taking the hanyou with her. "But what about your looks? Everyone will ask questions."

Inuyasha shrugged. "Miruk said something about a bass-ball kappa and I was welcome to his clothes."

Slightly annoyed, Kagome didn't even bother to correct his pronunciation. "C'mon then," she said, grabbing his elbow and leading him back to Miruk's room.

A little while later, Inuyasha was pulling at the sleeves of a red shirt, grumbling how he didn't have anywhere to put his hands. "I don't like how tight these are compared to my normal clothes," he complained, indicating the shirt, jeans, and sandals.

Kagome grinned slightly. _He looks pretty cute like that_, she thought to herself. Realizing what she was thinking,_ she mentally added, kawaii cute, not bishi cute_.

She looked at his hears and handed him a baseball cap she had borrowed from her brother.

"I can't hear as well," Inuyasha complained. "It's as if I were human."

"How would you know how well a human can hear?" Kagome asked, "I've been able to get along fine without super ears."

"What if something tries to attack us?"

"You've got your nose, don't you?"

Inuyasha grumbled some more as Kagome grabbed the stack of flyers Miruk had left and the two set off.

"No running off," Kagome said as they headed down the shrine's front steps, "and don't take that hat off, I don't know how to explain a dog eared boy running amok."

"Yes, Kikyo," the dog eared boy in question sneered, knowing it would strike a nerve.

Kagome whipped around and seemed to look in front of him. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!!"

"Kagome-chan?"

The looming stopped when a quiet voice sounded behind Kagome. She turned around.

A girl her age stood at the base of the steps, her long brown hair was pulled back in a pony tail high on her head. Kagome recognized her from her class.

"Sen-chan? Umm...what are you doing here?"

Sen was a girl who normally kept to herself. She was excellent at sports, but didn't like competing in games and races. She lived only a street away from Kagome, so she saw Sen on the way to school, but they didn't talk much.

"I need an exorcism," Sen answered, head down, "Is your grandfather or the other priest here?"  
_  
__I never really thought of Miruk as a priest, but..._

"They left a while ago," Inuyasha jumped in.

"Oh, well...thanks anyways..." Sen peered at Inuyasha's eyes. "Are those colored contacts?"

"Huh?"

"Yes!" Kagome interrupted, before Inuyasha said anything stupid. "He's...uh...also working here temporarily."

"Oh," Sen continued to stare at Inuyasha. "Is-"

"Yes, that's hair dye."

"-he able to do exorcisms?"

"Oh, no...he..." Kagome was getting better at thinking quickly, "he mainly helps keep the place in shape." She suddenly remembered the flyers in her hand. "If you can wait a week, you don't even have to pay for it."

Sen took the flyer Kagome offered and thanked her. Without another word, she started to head home.

When he was certain the other girl was out of hearing distance, Inuyasha said, "She smells like a demon."

"Sen?" Kagome laughed as she started down the sidewalk. "I highly doubt that. She's just a bit superstious and probably_ thinks _she's possessed."

"I've never heard of a cat demon possessing people." Inuyasha replied.

"Can we just stop with the demon talk? I want to get this done so that I can try and fix my textbook!" She snapped.

Most of the job passed in silence, interrupted only by Kagome having to explain what "Kars," "bykes," and "trane stashuns" were, among other modern items.

As Kagome was taping the final flyer at the nearest station entrance, she glanced outside to make sure Inuyasha wasn't chasing after "metal demons" again.

"Gah!" Eri, Arimi, and Yuki were gathered around him. She bolted towards them.

"Are you sure you aren't going out with her?" Arimi was asking the hanyou.

"You are living with her, and it would explain why she stood up Houjou," Eiri added.

"What are you all doing here?" Kagome interrupted before Inuyasha could open his mouth.

"We were going into the city to do some shopping, but then we saw you walking with him," Yuki said as she pointed at Inuyasha.

"I have a name you know."

"Well, it's been really nice seeing you, but we've got to get going," Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's arm and started to drag him off before her friends questions were directed at her.

"So what's your connection with this Inuyasha?" Eri had stepped in front of her to block her escape.

"Nothing! He just works at the shrine!" Kagome tried to edge around her, but this time Arimi cut her off.

"Then why didn't you go on your date with Houjou?"

"I was sick! Just ask my mother."

"But-"

Inuyasha suddenly grabbed Kagome by the waist and took off running. Kagome was stunned as their surroundings zoomed by. After a few seconds, they were several blocks away and Inuyasha slowed to a stop and set Kagome down.

"What..."

"It seemed like you wanted to get way from those three," Inuyasha answered simply.

"No normal person could pick up a school-girl and run off that fast."

"Hey, I got you out of a situation you didn't like!" Inuyasha snapped. "You should be thanking me!"

Kagome fumed. "I was in the process of getting away from them."

"Fine job you were doing."

"Osawari baka!"

A large crack appeared in the pavement.

"Why you-"

Ignoring the curses hurled at her, Kagome headed back home.

"...miyaki?"

Kagome jumped, "Huh?"

"Do you want some okonomiyaki?" Houjou indicated the nearby food cart. It was a week later at the festival.

"Oh, um, sure."

After ordering the Japanese style pizza and giving it to her, Houjou asked, "So what were you lost in thought about, Kagome-chan?"

_Inuyasha for some odd reason_, she thought.

"Umm...just worried about the test coming up in the next few days."

"If you're that worried about it, I could help you study if you want," Houjou suggested, smiling.

Kagome thought about the offer. Eri, Arimi, and Yuki were always too busy discussing the social life of the entire school; the last time she asked Miruk to help he "accidentally" groped her; her grandfather would start rambling on about how math doesn't apply to running a shrine (his way of saying he didn't know anything about whatever the assignment was); her mother was usually busy doing something; and she didn't think Inuyasha quite understood the concept of why school was important.

"I think that would be a very good idea," Kagome replied happily.

"Great," Houjou replied, putting an arm around her shoulder.

Kagome, about to pull the same thing she had done to Miruk a while back except with her okonomiyaki, tried to calm down. _Relax, this is a date_...

The evening passed and Kagome couldn't help enjoying herself, she loved festivals, especially fireworks.

_Fireworks?!_

Kagome slapped a hand to her forehead. Her mother had asked her, despite much protest, to take Souta with her to watch the fireworks.

"Maybe I could tell her I forgot him..." she muttered to herself.

"Forgot who?"

"Eh, my mother wanted me to take my little brother with us so he can see the firework display, even though I told her this is a date."

"Well, we've had several hours to ourselves, and I would hate to be the cause of a child missing something good." He started heading in a direction that would take him to the Dusk shrine.

"But..."

"Do you want to miss the display also?" Hojou asked, grinning over his shoulder.

_He really is a great guy, _Kagome thought, as she followed Hojou.

"She's back."

Miruk looked up from reading a young girl's palm. He didn't even inquire who Inuyasha meant by "she."

"And you'll live a rich and happy life," Miruk concluded quickly.

The girl headed off, slightly disappointed that the romantically talking young man had stopped so abruptly.

"I would think you wouldn't care whether Kagome was back or not," he told the hanyou.

Miruk had been taking a break from all the (real and fake) exorcisms that his idea had seemed to bring. He had come up with the scheme so he could practice and develop his spiritual powers now that he was 100 sure that powerful demons existed.

Inuyasha on the other hand had just escaped the clutches of a small child. Miruk had also come up with the idea of how to keep the hanyou occupied. He passed Inuyasha off as a friend of his who would "dress up" and "pretend" to be the demon from in the tree. Kagome's mother and grandfather had thought this was a wonderful idea.

"Feh, I don't care if she jumps off a cliff," replied the hanyou, "I was just telling you so you could go tell that sibling of hers that she's back."

Miruk blinked. "I thought he was helping you get away from those twin boys who wanted to 'banish' you."

"No, that was about an hour ago."

Miruk twitched. Mrs. Higarashi had asked the two of them to keep an eye on Souta while he was outside. "Alright, he's probably lost in the crowd...I'll distract Kagome and you can sniff him out."

Inuyasha stalked off, mumbling something about the difference between dogs and dog demons.

It was distracting with all the crowds of people there, but Inuyasha eventually pinpointed Souta's scent and followed it to the God Tree.

Souta wasn't there.

Inuyasha may not have been able to help Kagome with her "Gi-o-mi-tree," but he could easily figure out what was going on.

Earlier in the week, Miruk had come across a spell in the old scrolls that prevented anyone from focusing on an object. As long as he recharged (as Kagome put it) the spell, anyone's eyes would just slide away from the tree, not noticing the missing vines.

"You're sister's back," Inuyasha called out, focusing on a spot to the right of the Tree.

Souta suddenly seemed to pop out of nowhere. "But I like scaring people," Souta said, following Inuyasha back to the front of the Shrine, "some girls thought_ I_ was the demon."

"Feh," Inuyasha replied, not sure how to respond.

Pushing though the crowd, the two eventually spotted Kagome, Houjou and Miruk near the Shrine's staircase.

"...same prayer beads I used to get into a good high school." Miruk seemed to be telling Houjou about various good luck charms. Houjou seemed interested.

Kagome however seemed slightly annoyed. "We just came to get Souta before heading to the fireworks."

"Souta? Yes, Souta is..." Miruk caught sight of Inuyasha, "...right here!"

As the three headed back down the stairs, Miruk turned to Inuyasha. "So where was he?"

"Hiding next to the Tree and spooking people," Inuyasha explained. Suddenly he cocked his head and sniffed. "Remember that girl with the cat demon scent I told you about?"

"Yeah."

"Turn around."

Miruk turned around. A girl had just stopped behind the two young men, a small cat's head and front paws poking out from over her kimono's sleeves. Inuyasha felt his lips curl back in a silent snarl, but Miruk on the other hand had reverted to ultra-charmer mode.

"Anything we can help you with?" he asked, flashing the girl one of his best smiles.

"Are you still offering the free exorcisms?" the girl asked, blushing very slightly at Miruk.

"Of course, a beautiful young lady such as yourself doesn't deserve to be plagued by demons and spirits." Miruk moved closer to her. "Now why don't you tell me what it is that needs to be purified..." He trailed off, waiting for her name.

"It's Sen, and it might be better if I showed you," the girl looked around. "Is there a spot that is secluded from the crowds?"

"Behind the storehouse." Inuyasha interrupted, having a staring contest of sorts with the cat.

"Uhh...yes, behind the storehouse," Miruk said, slightly taken by surprise. He had forgotten that Inuyasha was still there. Reassuming his charming mode, he placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "This way. Now maybe you could tell me a little bit about the problem."

"Well, a little while ago, I found Honouneko here. She is a bit odd looking, but I thought it was a birth defect or something."

Miruk looked at the cat, who was staring unblinkingly at the hanyou following them. Besides markings he had never seen before and a mane of fur around its neck, he didn't see anything resembling a birth defect. _Maybe it's missing a hind leg or something_, he thought, due to the fact that most of the cat was hidden behind the Sen's wide sleeves.

"About two weeks ago, she started...doing unbelievable things," she paused. "What are you doing?" She asked, a vein twitching on the side of her head.

"Hand slipped," Miruk said quickly, moving his hand from the girl's rear.

By now they were behind the storehouse. The girl placed her cat on the ground, "Don't stand too close," she advised.


	9. Festivels and Fire Cats Part Two

Author's Note: Finnaly...sorry about taking so long with this, but it took forever to write this with all my miscillainous school stuff going on, and then so long to type up (10 pages!) that I had to take a few days break before posting.**  
**

**Chapter 8: Festivals and Fire Cats (Part 2)**

Honouneko, the girl's cat, suddenly burst into flames.

"What the…" Miruk jumped back. _Did a cat just burst into flames?_ Now he could see why Sen thought her cat was possessed.

Inuyasha's expression was something of a smirk and a snarl. "I told ya there was a demon."

Miruk just stood there.

The flames disappeared almost as quickly as they had come.

Blinking slightly, Miruk stared at the large creature that had taken the place of the small cat. It was obviously the same animal with the same color and markings, but it now had fangs, jutting down from a more prominent muzzle, and its eyes now had an expression that reminded him of hunting lions from documentaries he had seen when he was younger. Not only that, but there were still a few flickering flames around its paws and tails.

"It's…uh…not like anything I've seen before…" Miruk managed to get out.

"Feh…I've seen plenty of shape-shifting demons before," Inuyasha muttered.

"That's not all she can do," Sen spoke up, "she can fly."

"Fly?"

Sen nodded. "I'll show you." She walked over to the two tailed cat demon and climbed on her back. She then looked over at Miruk. "Well? C'mon."

Miruk looked up at her. "You want me to ride it?"

"Her," Sen corrected, "Honouneko is a girl. And besides," she scratched the demon behind an ear, "when I showed my parents, they thought I had rigged up a projector or used smoke and mirrors or something. I just wanted to make sure you believed me."

Miruk flashed a look at Inuyasha. "Heh…you'd be surprised at the things I believe in."

Sen started speaking again, remaining on top of Honouneko, "If you insist. I've found flying quite exhilarating, but…" She sighed, "That's why I was hoping for an exorcism. I really want to keep her, but I can't have a demon possessed flying cat up in Tokyo's sky."

_Heh…if only Kagome was so attached to the demon she found,_ Miruk laughed mentally. He was about to reply when Inuyasha jumped in. "You'd have to destroy it."

A horrified look flashed across Sen's face. "What?"

Miruk figured out what he was saying. "What my friend means to say is that Honouneko seems to be an actual cat demon, not a demon possessed cat." He let Sen think about that for a second, then continued, "meaning that a powerful exorcism would either destroy or banish her rather than making her a normal cat."

"Oh," Sen was silent for a minute, before getting off Honouneko. With another flash of fire, the now innocent looking demon jumped up into Sen's arms and let out a small mew. "I'm going to think about this." She started to walk back towards the front of the shrine, but she paused and looked back at Inuyasha and Miruk, "You two won't tell anyone that I'm keeping a demon, will you?"

Inuyasha muttered something about not being allowed out of the house.

"What was that?"

Miruk directed Sen back to her intended direction. "He said he won't tell." He shot a look at the dog hanyou, plainly telling him to be careful about what he says.

The courtyard had almost completely cleared out by now, so they didn't have to maneuver through crowds like they had to earlier. They reached entrance in a few minutes.

"I hope I will have the honor of meeting you sometime soon," Miruk said as a farewell.

Sen didn't turn to look at him, and he didn't notice her right hand clenching. "Hopefully if that day comes, you can prevent your hand from 'slipping'."

Miruk grinned to himself as she left. _Well…I like a challenge._

He must have been standing there for a while, daydreaming, because the next thing he was aware of was Kagome calling his name and waving her hand in front of his face.

"Oi! Miruk! What's with that happy, dazed look?" Remembering his habit of flirting with almost any woman he saw, "Wait a second, don't answer that."

Miruk debated whether to tell Kagome about Honouneko while she said goodnight to Hojou (who had walked her home). As Miruk and Kagome headed back towards the house, he decided he wouldn't be breaking his promise if he didn't tell Kagome _who_ had the demon cat.

"Apparently Inuyasha isn't the only large demon running loose in the city."

Kagome turned her head to look at him. "Really? Did one show up in your exorcisms?"

"Uh-uh. The stuff brought to your grandfather and I was only truly possessed about five percent of the time, and they were just minor spirits and demons. But someone did bring a pet of theirs."

"And?"

"Turns out it was an actual demon who could change forms. She seemed to have become attached to the demon, so she decided to keep it instead of getting rid of it."

Kagome kept walking. She didn't seem phased by the idea of more powerful demons living in this era. "Was it Sen?"

Miruk paused. "How do you know her?"

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know her really well, she's just a classmate," they had reached the house and she opened the door. "Keeping a supernatural creature does seem like the kind of thing she would do." She let out a yawn, "I'm heading to bed…'Night Miruk."

Miruk was about to head into the house after her, but he paused. _Odd…I could have sworn someone was watching us…_

Meanwhile, back behind the house, Inuyasha was wiping his claws on his haori, cleaning them off. "Dunno why you're flying around here," he said to the pile of what looked like insect remains, "but it did feel good to get some target practice." He look a quick sniff to see if there were any more of the pests hanging around, then jumped up to a nearby tree for some sleep.

_I'll get back into the house before those two realized I didn't go back inside, _he thought as he dozed off.

Several miles outside Tokyo was a gloomy, misty plain of sorts. It had been there for as long as the locals could remember, but they left it alone, people could easily get lost in the mist and never find their way back out. A few of these had actually found the center of the mist, but didn't live long enough to find their way out and tell everyone what was in there.

A group of demons, weaker than ones such as Inuyasha or Honouneko, but still strong enough to tear a human to shreds, patrolled the edges of what seemed to be ancient walls.

On a very rare occasion, someone could have gotten past the demons and the wall, such as the case of nineteen year old Toya. He had always been fascinated by the stories associated with the misty land near his hometown. Armed with a camera and a knife, he ha adventured into the mist, and after a few hours, found himself on the other side of the walls.

"Amazing…" he murmured, raising his camera. He seemed to be in the courtyard of an old fashioned palace. "Who knew there was a historical find so close to town?" As he wandered the courtyard, he couldn't help thinking, _But what happened to all the people who disappeared?_

"Well, well, well…you're the first mortal in about 40 years to have gotten in here."

Toya whipped around. A boy of about 14 stood fifteen feet away. Toya wasn't sure what surprised him more: the boy's purple hair and pale skin, his sudden appearance, or the curved glaive he had over one shoulder. "Who…where?" He wasn't sure what to ask first, but his right hand went to the knife he had through his belt, just in case.

Taking the blade off his shoulder, the youth gave a few experimental swings; he was very skilled with it. "You can call me Akago…not that you'll know it for long." Toya really did not like the expression on his face.

"D…do you live here?" he stammered. If he could just keep this creepy kid talking, he might be able to make a bolt to the hole in the wall.

"Yeah…for several centuries actually."

Toya felt his back hit one of the skeletal trees that were scattered through the courtyard. If he could just edge around it…_I'm pretty certain it's the one near the hole…_He continued with his questioning. "Centuries? So are you a ghost or something?"

Before he could move another inch, Akago's blade flashed, faster than Toya's eyes could have followed, and a burst of pain spread through his upper body. The glaive had gone through his shoulder, pinning him to the tree trunk.

"Now if I were a ghost, that wouldn't have hurt." Akago let out a chilling laugh and moved to a few inches in front of Toya. "Now, why bother dirtying my blade with more human blood," he indicated Toya's bleeding shoulder, "when you have a perfect blade for the job." He reached an arm out and Toya held his knife tighter. He wasn't going to let that…that…psycho have anything that could end Toya's life.

But Akago didn't reach for the knife; instead he placed his hand over Toya's heart. Hateful thoughts and memories suddenly flashed before his eyes.

"Well, such a strong hatred toward your parents…this will make things easy."

Toya couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from, all he could think of was how his parents focused all their attention on his little sister and never listened to a word he said. Not only that, they wouldn't let him take the college entrance exams because they wanted him to take over the family business. He was so consumed with jealousy and anger, he didn't notice the unknown force enter his mind until it was too late.

Akago smiled as the human youth's face and eyes went blank; he was now under his control. "I believe you know what I want you to do."

Toya's expression didn't change as he slowly raised his knife above his own throat.

"Human blood is so damn hard to get off," Akago complained, scrubbing at his glaive's blade. He had given the corpse to the demons that always hung around the walls, and changed his clothes, but he was attached to his blade and didn't like it stained with gore.

_Akago._

The only reaction the youth gave to the voice was to lean his glaive against the wall and walk out of the room.

Momentarily, Akago arrived at the main audience chamber. The huge room was empty of furniture or decorations except for a low table and mat at the far end of the hall and a few candle stands scattered about.

Kneeling next to the table and holding a circular mirror was a girl who looked to be a few years older than himself. Everything about her was pale, from her skin to her clothing. The exception to this were her blank, downcast eyes, which were as dark as a bottomless void.

Akago ignored her. His attention was on the figure hidden by the flickering shadows the few candles formed. "You summoned me?"

"Look in the mirror," the figure said, gesturing with an arm towards the pale girl.

Bending down to look, Akago watched the scene in the mirror. It was relatively brief; two humans walking into a house together, and then a flash of red, white, and claws before the mirror went dark and the scene started to repeat itself.

Akago studied the two humans this time. "The man looks like that monk your curse destroyed centuries ago," he commented. He hadn't been present during the incident because he had the form of an infant at that time and couldn't move far on his own, but had watched it in this same mirror.

"And the woman looks like that wench Kikyou that I killed before your time," the figure explained.

Akago thought about this. "You think they might be reincarnations," he deducted.

"Exactly. And if the priestess has come back…"

"…So might have the Shikon no Tama!" Akago exclaimed, excitement in his voice. He had heard the story many times about the Jewel that could grant its owner immense power. Around five hundred years ago, his master had tried to steal it from the priestess protecting it, but she lived long enough to order it burnt with her remains.

"I had almost given up on ever finding anything as powerful, but now that this girl ahs shown up…and it seems she might have unsealed a certain hanyou as well…" Akago remembered the claws at the end of the scene. "I would very much like to meet this human."

Akago started to head towards the hall's entrance, "I'll go and retrei-"

His shadow cloaked master motioned him to wait. "I want you to bring your sister."

"But.." Normally his sister was required to stay so events in the outside world could be viewed through her mirror.

"Not the sister you think of, but another one I had to get rid of soon before I created you. She was too free-spirited, but I think she might have her uses now." He beckoned Akago to come closer. "Since you now have the heart that made me a hanyou, I'll need to borrow it to recreate her."

Akago shivered. He had to do this once before, and it had been a very unpleasant experience, almost as if he had been snuffed out of existence for a few hours. But he couldn't disobey his master.

"As you wish, Naraku-sama."

Back in the Tokyo suburbs, Sen was the latest addition to the world of haunting dreams.

She was riding on the back of Honouneko, but instead of the towering buildings she had flown around the few times she had been on the cat demon, they were flying through mountains and valleys.

Sen was also aware that she wasn't in her usual clothing or even the pajamas she had on now. Instead she was wearing a tight, black outfit and what seemed to be light armor. A brief flash of pain alerted her to several cuts, scratches, and bruises on her body.

As Honouneko avoided a jutting cliff, her arm slipped and her elbow bumped into something hard and large behind her. Turning, she could see what looked like the end of a giant boomerang behind her. It seemed to be tied across her shoulders and back.

_Cool._ Sen thought, trying to grin, but her face seemed set in an expression of fear and hatred.

"Onee-san?"

Startled, Sen craned her neck so she could see behind the boomerang.

A pair of wide, terrified eyes looked back at her. They belonged to a boy of about thirteen, dressed in a similar outfit to hers. He also was covered in cuts and scratches like she was.

He moved his bangs out of his eyes. "Are you alright, onee-san?"

Sen found herself replying, "Fine, just worry about resting yourself." Her words were tinged with worry, pain, and anger, reflecting her expression.

The boy picked up on the anger. "I'm really sorry…but I had to…I…" Sen didn't have to look back to realize he was crying.

She reached a hand back to grab one of his own. "It wasn't your fault. I had to do the same. I'm sure our friend's spirits understand that it was in self defense."

"But killing them destroyed any chance of them coming back!"

"But if we had managed to kill that mirror demon, their souls could have been lost forever."

The boy made a sound as if to reply, but was cut off by a growl from Honouneko.

"What is it, Kirara?" Sen asked. _Wait a minute…her name's Honouneko, not Kirara, _she thought as she looked in the same direction of the cat demon.

Smoke was rising from behind the ruins of what looked like a huge wooden wall. "Please don't let us be to late…" She whispered, feeling a pain in her heart.

As Honouneko landed, Sen grabbed the giant boomerang and held it at the ready. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the boy do the same, except his weapon of choice seemed to be a chained sickle. "Stay alert, Kohaku," she said, "keep an eye out for any demons that might still be lurking around."

Placing what seemed to be a face guard or mask over her nose and mouth, Sen darted into the smoke that was hiding whatever lay beyond, Honouneko and the boy, Kohaku, next to her.

When the three finally passed through the unusually thick smoke, Sen almost dropped to her knees.

Bodies covered the ground and wreckage of what must have been a village. Some were the grotesque corpses of demons, but most of them were humans. "No…to late…," she said emptily.

"You got here much more quickly than I expected."

Kohaku threw his sickle in the direction of the voice that had spoken, but obviously missed, because laughter was heard coming from another direction. "I wonder what it must be like to loose everyone you know in one day," the voice sneered.

"You cowardly bastard!" Sen yelled, trying her own luck with her boomerang, yelling "Hiraikotsu!" This time, something made contact, but only a glancing blow. The laughter seemed all around them now, Sen noticed as she caught the returning boomerang with practiced ease.

"We can't see him with all this smoke," Kohaku said in an undertone.

Sen thought quickly. "The village center. It's open so there shouldn't have been much wreckage to catch fire."

With a nod, the two darted forward, Honouneko following Sen. The smoke was extra thick at some points, and she kept loosing sight of her dream-brother.

As she ran, her heart felt like a dagger was repeatedly stabbing her heart as she saw the bodies of people her dream self must have known.

When she finally reached the village center, she saw that she had been right in thinking the smoke would be much thinner. She looked around, but Kohaku wasn't there yet. _Please be alright,_ she thought. Even though he was only a dream character, Sen seemed to have become quite attached to him.

Honouneko suddenly started growling again, watching the space behind Sen. Turning, she saw Kohaku finally stepping out of the wall of smoke.

She was going to call something out to him, but the cat demon suddenly leaped at him, fangs bared.

"Kirara! No!" _It's Honouneko, baka!_ Sen mentally yelled at her subconscious.

She was about to try and knock Kohaku out of the way, but before she could step forward, a cloud of dark mist suddenly appeared around the cat demon. Honouneko dropped to the ground, twitching slightly.

"Heh, not many creatures can remain conscious after inhaling my miasma," the voice came from behind Sen again.

She whirled around, Hiraikotsu at the ready. "Show yourself!"

More laughter. "You might want to deal with the danger behind you first before fighting me."

Hearing a noise, Sen ducked to the side as an object went flying by her face, leaving a cut on her shoulder. _If I hadn't dodged…_She turned around to face her new enemy…

…and found herself facing Kohaku, only his eyes looked dull and blank as he jerked his weapon's chain, retrieving the sickle from where it landed after soaring past her.

"No!" Sen cried, realizing that the boy's mind was no longer under his control. This realization seemed to shock her so much that she barely reacted in time to block the next attack with her own weapon.

The battle commenced, Kohaku on the offensive and Sen on the defensive, not wanting to hurt him. The entire time she was yelling at him to snap out of it.

By now the fight had been carried into the smoke, which Sen now realized was tinged with miasma. It was becoming harder and harder to block Kohaku's attacks since she couldn't locate his position easily.

After a few minutes of no charges from Kohaku, Sen found herself in a clear area near one of the walls that had protected the village. Sitting atop the pile of splintered and broken logs was a white baboon.

"Are you having fun?" the baboon asked.

_Wait a minute…did that…_Sen realized that it was actually someone dressed in a baboon pelt. _Maybe its whoever or whatever is controlling my brother,_ Sen heard a distant, back part of her mind think. "What have you done to Kohaku!" She yelled, raising her Hiraikotsu.

The figure laughed, the same laugh that had been following her through the village. Now she knew the source. "I haven't touched your darling little brother, only asked a favor of another demon who can control human minds."

Sen was now shaking in anger. She couldn't think of something horrible enough to call this…thing. Her earlier name for him seemed almost too kind for him now. Despite her trembling, her aim remained steady as she hurled her weapon at him.

The laughter continued as the boomerang sliced through him, a mound of dirt and a wooden object falling out of the pelt.

"Damn…only a puppet," Sen growled. She raised an arm to catch her returning weapon, but let out a yell as something cut a large gash in her arm from behind, knocking her hand out of the way. Grabbing her wound, she noticed two things as she turned around; first, her attacker had indeed been Kohaku, and second, the boomerang was still flying thought the air at a fast speed.

Time seemed to slow down as Sen realized that the boy was directly in the giant object's way. She tried to reach him first, but with the pain from her shoulder wouldn't and time still moving slowly, she could only watch in horror as it slammed into Kohaku's chest, at which point everything resumed normal speed. Kohaku was carried by the momentum of the weapon to a nearby ruin of a house, where he was crushed between the two. He slumped to the ground.

_Gods, please let him be ok…_that distant part of Sen's mind as she rushed over.

When she reached the wall, Sen dropped to her knees and pulled him close to her. Sen could tell from the crushed ribs and the blood around his mouth that he didn't have much time left. She thought his eyes would have been dull and cloudy, but they seemed as bright as ever. He seemed to have been released from the mind control; Sen was happy about this in a way she didn't want him to die as a mindless doll. "Kohaku," she cried, holding him closer.

With his last bit of energy, Kohaku gave his sister a smile and said, "I think I understand now how Haru and Tonami and the others felt earlier…and you're right. Their spirits won't be angry at us." He closed his eyes, "And I'm not mad at you, onee-san."

The last thing Sen remembered before waking up was being hunched over Kohaku's body and crying.

_That must have been the most realistic dream I've ever had_ she thought, feeling her tear streaked cheeks and looking around her darkened room. _This one must have meant something…I'll use my dream dictionary in the morning._

As she was about to fall back asleep, another thought entered her head when her eyes noticed Honouneko sleeping on the carpet beside Sen's bed. _I wonder…_ "Honouneko."

The cat demon raised its head and blinked.

"Kirara?" Sen tried the name from her dream.

With a loud, happy mew, the small demon leaped up onto Sen's bed, then tried to get on her shoulders, purring continuously.


	10. The Tokyo Trickster

Whew…after a long time involving hectic schedules, losing the spiral I write Destiny in, then finding it again, Chapter 9 is finally finished! celebrates And with summer break coming up, I'm hoping my time between chapters will become shorter and shorter. Well…enjoy this chapter, and watch for an appearance for a character from another of Rumiko Takahashi's series.

**Chapter 9: The Tokyo Trickster**

Miruk was happily enjoying normal, not-being-sucked-into-nothingness dreams when he realized someone was trying to shake him awake. "Five more minutes Mother," he grumbled, pulling his pillow over his head. He thought he heard laughter before someone grabbed the pillow and started hitting him with it.

If someone my age was your mother, then your father must've been more of a flirt than you are." Miruk cracked his eyes open to see two figures standing over him, one with the pillow over its shoulder. "Now get up...we've got a problem."

Sitting up and yawning, Miruk finally recognized the figures as Kagome and Souta. "Wha' kinda problem?" he asked, blinking sleepily.

Souta pointed to the window and Miruk slid out of bed to take a look. He stopped in mid-yawns as he observed the scene outside.

Kagome's mother and grandfather were standing at the base of a nearby tree. Mrs. Higarashi seemed to be talking to her father as he tossed objects Miruk recognized as charms and talismans from the storehouse up into the tree. He also seemed to be burning some sort of incense as smoke was rising up into the tree's branches.

Shifting his line of sight upward, Miruk saw a familiar flash of red and white. He shrugged and yawned again as he spoke. "No problem, we just tell them that my 'friend' was too tired to get back home after last night and he...uh...sleep-climbs."

Souta shook his head. "Not gonna work."

Miruk raised an eyebrow. "Why not?" 

"Look at the God Tree," Kagome said, pointing again.

Miruk had to crane his neck at an awkward angle to see the tree properly. "Damnit..." he muttered.

He had forgotten to recharge the illusion spell on the tree. The missing vines were now visible...err...not visible and Kagome's mother and grandfather had obviously noticed this. Realizing his help was probably needed outside, Miruk bolted out of his room, and down the stairs, ignoring Kagome's move to stop him.

"Well," she muttered to Souta, "I tried to stop him...but it's not my fault if he wants to run around outside like that."

Souta laughed again as they too hurried to get outside.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha was yelling down from the tree's branches at the old man changing and throwing things at him. "Would ya cut it out old man? I'm not here by choice!" He glanced towards the house when he heard footsteps and a door slam. Miruk soon rounded the corner. _What tha' hell is he wearing? _He asked himself, having never seen boxers before, let alone the rainbow and heart covered ones Miruk was wearing.

As an unnoticed scroll tied to a small statue hit his ear, Inuyasha decided to try the blame game. He pointed to Miruk. "Throw things at him! It was his and that Kagome's fault that I'm here!"

"Higarashi-san!" Miruk called out, skidding to a halt behind him. "I-" 

"Ah! Miruk, I need your help," the shrine keeper exclaimed without turning around. "The demon from within the God Tree has been unleashed into the world."

"He has been unleashed for about a week, jii-chan," Kagome said as she arrived on the scene with Souta.

"What do you mean, dear?" her mother asked, while shooting an odd look at Miruk. 

"Nee-chan let him out," Souta said.

"That's excellent news!" their grandfather exclaimed, sparing a glance from Inuyasha to grin at Kagome.

Everybody stared.

"If it's good news, then why are you trying to get rid of me?" Inuyasha asked.

"The demon being unsealed is an unfortunate event, but I have been praying that Kagome or Souta would show spiritual powers so that I may leave the care of this shrine in the hands of the Higarashi family when I move onto the next world. Oi!" Apparently Inuyasha had flicked a twig at him, causing the old man to resume trying to use his talismans. "I wouldn't mind leaving it in the care of Miruk, he's a talented and reliable lad, but unless he was to wed Kagome," Kagome's eyes widened in terror while Miruk seemed to be contemplating the idea, "it would have broken the line the Higarashi family has held for almost four hundred years."

This speech brought several reactions from those present.

_I wouldn't be surprised if jii-chan did try to marry me off to him... ___

_Something tells me this shrine hasn't seen a real priest for a while if it ended up in his hands... ___

_I could have easily gotten away from that blabbering old man...but if I did anything to him I could have been bound or sat like last time thanks to those two... ___

_I wish I had powers...then maybe I could find a demon of my own... ___

_So Kagome unsealed him...interesting considering her lack of interest in old legends and stories..._

Kagome's grandfather interrupted the silent musings with a sound of annoyance.

"I obviously need something stronger to get rid of you..." he muttered, rummaging in his pockets for the various paper charms and seals he seemed to carry everywhere. "This should hold you in that spot for now," he said, sticking one to the tree's trunk. He then started to head back inside, saying something about sending Miruk on an errand. 

Kagome's mother leaned over to whisper in Miruk's ear. "You might wish to change your clothes before heading out."

Miruk blinked and finally seemed to become aware of his single garment. Blushing slightly, he made a beeline for the house. _Why did I have to be wearing the pair Hirome gave me last year? _He thought, remembering his 18th birthday gag gift.

Mrs. Higarashi now turned to her daughter. "I believe I know where your grandfather is sending him, so could you please go with him and pick some things up for me on the way?"

"Yes, mama," Kagome answered, not complaining as she didn't have much else to do that day.

"And also," Mrs. Higarashi took a quick look up at Inuyasha, "If you could take him with you? I don't want your grandfather hurting himself or innocent bystanders trying to banish him."

"But...aren't you worried about him...eating me or something?" Kagome protested. She had been Inuyasha's babysitter for a while now and she was hoping for a break. 

"If you managed to keep him hidden since the time you unsealed him, I'm sure you can handle a trip into the city," Kagome's mother countered. She then lowered her voice before adding, "besides...there have been quite a few disappearances in downtown, I think this demon could provide some good protection if need be.

Kagome sighed and looked up at Inuyasha.

"Don't bother talking...I heard it all an' I'm not going," the demon snapped.

Kagome became even more irked at his tone. "Yes you are," she snapped back. "Get down here!"

"No," Inuyasha said, looking away.

"Down!"

"No!" 

"Down!"

"No!"

"Osawari!" 

Inuyasha was allowed one brief expression of surprise before the prayer beads forced him, and his branch, down to the ground at Kagome's feet.

"I hate you...you know that right?" A pained, muffled voice came from the round.

Souta looked at his sister with a look of amazement. He had known about the command, but had never witnessed it. "And you were worried about him eating you."

"You're lost aren't you?" Kagome asked Miruk's back.

"No...this is a short cut," he replied, turning an alleyway corner...

...and coming face to face with a dead end. "Alright, maybe we are lost."

Inuyasha and Kagome both moaned.

The three of them had spent a whole two hours after getting off the train trying to follow Kagome's grandfather's vague directions to the shop he had sent Miruk to. It was, unfortunately, hidden in the maze of Tokyo's backstreets where it probably still would have been hard to find, even with good directions.

"I guess we should have you backtrack for us again," Miruk said, turning and looking back at Inuyasha.

More groaning.

"C'mon...I know you're getting tired, but I don't want to be fired, I enjoy working at the shrine."

_Or you enjoy following the women who visit..._ Kagome thought

Inuyasha led them back through the alleyways and streets, following their scent.

"There are so many other things I could be doing right now," Kagome muttered, starting to get impatient. Something suddenly caught her eye and she went back a few steps.

There was an alleyway entrance dark enough to blend into the surrounding shadows. Towards the far end, she could make out a shop entrance and a worn sign with the words _Genma's Charms, Antiques, and Misc. _

"Miruk?" 

"Not now, Kagome."

"Miruk!"

"I said not now, I need to try and figure out where we're going." 

Annoyed at being ignored, Kagome looked around for something to get his attention and noticed a glint of purple through Inuyasha's hair.

"Osawari!"

"What tha hell was that for?" The flattened hanyou yelled from the ground while Miruk looked back at Kagome with surprise.

"The store's down here," Kagome replied innocently.

"Are you sure?" Miruk asked.

Kagome walked down the ally a little ways until she could make out the store's entrance. "Unless there is another back street store with a painting of a panda on either side of the door."

Great...now lets just get this job done and over with," Inuyasha said while standing up, "I'm getting bored as well as abused."

He was suddenly knocked to the ground again as someone on a bicycle rounded the corner quickly.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry...I didn't think anyone would be back here..." The rider dismounted, apologizing over and over as she offered Inuyasha a hand to help him up.

Both Kagome and Miruk noticed the voice almost immediately.

"It seems fate has brought us together again," Miruk said, grabbing Sen's hand since Inuyasha ignored it.

"Unfortunately..." the girl replied, not looking very happy.

Kagome had walked up behind Inuyasha and was making sure that after two falls, his ears were still securely covered. "What are you doing back here anyways?" she asked Sen.

"I come to Genma's all the time," she replied, trying to get her hand away from Miruk's as politely as possible, "my room is filled with stuff I've bought there...but," she finally got her hand out of Miruk's, "I need a book about dream memories since mine doesn't go into too much detail about them."

Both Kagome and Miruk were now staring at Sen with odd expressions on their faces.

"Dream memories?" Kagome repeated.

"Yes...extremely vivid dreams of things that have happened in your past, or even a past life."

Miruk spoke up. "Would you be having some of these dream memories?"

"Well...most wouldn't think so because I was fighting demons, but since you live at a shrine you should know how common place they used to be."

_At least after Inuyasha showed up, _both Kagome and Miruk thought at the same time.

"What about you?" Sen asked, "I thought I was the only person I knew who knows about this shop." 

"We're running an errand for my grandfather," Kagome told her, "he needs some sort of powerful talisman or charm."

"What for?"

"Umm...shrine troubles."

Sen didn't dig into the matter anymore as she picked her bike up and started wheeling it forward as the group proceeded to the shop.

Once inside, Kagome couldn't help but stare at the towering, cluttered shelves filled with anything and everything.

At the counter stood a bored looking, red-haired girl, who had been rolling a 100 yen piece across the counter, before noticing the customers.

"Oh...its you again," she said, noticing Sen and obviously recognizing her, "just go ahead and help yourself to whatever you need this time." Sen promptly proceeded to a table in the back of the store with a huge mound of books on it. "Now what about you?" the red-head asked the other three.

"We were wondering-" Kagome started. 

"-If you knew how absolutely beautiful you are?" Miruk finished, moving right up to the counter. Kagome gave a slight groan and put her face in her hand.

The girl glared at him, "You're not another fiancée, are you?"

"Fiancée?" Miruk repeated, sounding slightly disappointed.

"If that's a no, good," the girl said as she cracked her knuckles. 

"It's just a joke," Kagome said, grabbing Miruk's shirt and tugging him backwards, "what I was trying to say earlier was that we were wondering what you had for powerful charms." 

The girl leaned on the counter and squinted slightly. "You're Higarashi's grand-daughter, aren't you?"

"Umm...yes." 

The girl returned to her original position. "Had a feeling he would start sending someone when he finally admitted he was to old to keep wandering around back here," she made a motion with her hands that made Kagome think she was mentally strangling someone, "unlike someone I could name." She looked back at Kagome, "but you can tell your grandfather that the only things added to our stock since he was last here are some toys from the Sengoku Jidai era."

"All that trouble for nothing?" Inuyasha complained, before starting to investigate some of the objects on nearby shelves.

"You got lost also?" Sen asked, walking up to the counter to pay of the book she had picked out.

"This area of the city seems to have that effect on people," the girl added, "I've been helping my old man around here for several months, and I'll still get disoriented on occasion." She suddenly glared at Inuyasha. "Shoplifters usually think twice before stealing from here."

Inuyasha looked up from playing with the figurines near the door. "I was just lookin' at it," he snapped, "not that you could do anything to me if I did." 

The girl leaped over the top of the counter, landed lightly in front of the hanyou, and glared up at him. "Don't test me," she snapped back, "and you were the only one near the Sengoku Jidai toys," she pointed to the shelf he had been standing by. "Don't see then there now, do you?"

"I haven't been interested in those since I was a kid," Inuyasha snapped back with an identical tone.

"Feh. You-"

"Merow." 

The red-head looked behind Inuyasha to where the noise had come from. She suddenly stiffened and bolted to the top of the counter. "W-where did those come from?" she asked with fear in her voice.

The other four exchanged looks with each other as they noticed what was terrifying the girl.

Three orange-brown cats were sitting by the doorway.

"Kawaii!" Kagome exclaimed, bending to pet one.

The felines simply ignored her and walked over to the counter where they simply sat down and mewed up at the terrified red-head.

"That explains why she refused to let me bring Kirara in," Sen mused.

Kagome was about to ask who Kirara was, but something else distracted her. 

A young man about Miruk's age was standing with his face pressed against the main store window, a grin on his face. He looked normal enough, dressed in street clothes and had apparently dyed his hair an orangey color. But what made him jump out at Kagome were the objects sticking out of the front of his shirt. She tapped Sen on the shoulder, "Hey, aren't those the old toys that went missing?" 

Sen glanced at the person outside and suddenly bolted towards the door, pausing only briefly to tell Inuyasha, "You don't want either of Genma's kids mad at you, so I'd suggest helping me get the real thief."

Inuyasha looked at the observer, gave a sniff then gave an growl before following Sen out the door. Their object of pursuit had noticed the attention he had attracted and had ran back down the alleyway as his chasers reached the door.

Kagome was now worried for the thief's safety. Inuyasha would probably have no problem with killing him, and his earlier growling didn't help her thoughts.

She grabbed the back of Miruk's shirt and gave it a yank. "Leave the cats," she whispered as he turned his attention from trying to get the cats out of the store (they refused to let him pick them up), "Dog-boy's loose." 

Miruk looked a bit guilty about leaving the red-head to fend for herself against something she seemed deathly afraid of, but he decided a rampaging demon in Tokyo was probably worse. "Which way did he go?" he asked Kagome, following her out of the shop. 

Shortly after they had left, the three cats disappeared without a trace. From her vantage on the shop counter, the girl triple checked that they weren't there anymore before climbing off. She headed to the back room, planning on dumping water on her father so he could deal with any more customers so she could try and cat-proof the building.

"I hate this place!" Kagome yelled, kicking at a nearby abandoned newspaper. 

It had been a while and she and Miruk were even more lost than they had been earlier. They hadn't seen hide or hair of Sen, Inuyasha, or the thief, even though they thought they saw random flashes of them at the ends of intersecting alleyways, or heard random shouting from behind a wall or building.

"Maybe we should just go home and wait for the news to report mass chaos in this part of town," she said aloud, expecting a reply from Miruk.

But none came.

"Miruk?" Kagome asked, turning around.

Only a darkening, empty alleyway stood behind her.

"Miruk?" she called again, desperately hoping that he was just being a little slow and would turn a corner shortly after.

He didn't, but Kagome did see somebody's shadow moving down one of the connecting paths. Kagome cautiously moved towards it.

The ally turned out to be a small and narrow empty lot of sorts. Grass and weeds grew in scattered clumps on the ground, hiding trash strewn on the ground. At the far end stood the young man who had been the source of this entire mess. He was leaning against the wall as if taking a break from being chased. 

Oddly enough, he hadn't seen Kagome standing there. "Oi!" she called, about to make a move to corner him.

A hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. For a split second she thought it was Miruk or Inuyasha, but was shocked to find the thief standing behind her. "Looking for me?" He asked with a grin.

Kagome shot a look behind her, seeing that the thief was still leaning against the wall, but at the same time, he was standing about a foot away from her.

But as Kagome looked back at the other one, she began to realize that the two looked identical, but the one in front of her seemed to be dressed in old fashioned clothing and armor. Not only that, but as Kagome stared at his face, she noticed that his ears were pointed and his eyes seemed almost...animal like.

Suddenly very nervous, Kagome asked, "W...who're you?"

He continued to leer at her as he replied. "I've acquired many names over the years," he said, "but you can call me Shippou, the Tokyo Trickster and the last man you'll ever look at."


	11. Demons, Demons Everywhere

**Author's Note:** I've had several people ask me why on earth did I name Miroku's reincarnation 'Milk' (miruk is Japanese for milk if you didn't know already). Well, when I first entered the Inuyasha fandom, many people beleived Miroku meant milk rather than the actual meaning (If I remember correctly, it's another name for Buddah. I don't remember 100, but it does have to do with the Buddhist religion). So when I was coming up with names for the reincarnations that appear in this fanfic, I decided to pay a tribute of sorts to my early fandom days.

Chapter 10: Demons, Demons Everywhere…

_Not good…_Kagome found herself thinking as she backed up, not realizing this was putting her in a more dangerous position with the wall behind her, _is he the one who's been responsible for the disappearances Mama was talking about?_

The young man smirked and took a step forward for every one she took backwards. For a moment Kagome thought she saw something that looked like a tail flash into view behind him, but it disappeared quickly, not to mention she had other things to worry about.

"You know," he said, almost musingly and smirking leer still in place, "You aren't that bad looking for a human…maybe I'll take you for my mate rather than kill you."

"Eh!" Kagome meeped. _Mate! I don't want to be anyone's mate!_

"Well…you seem simply speechless by the idea," he continued in an amused tone, "but then again, I guess humans of this age aren't used to running into youkai too often, are they?"

_Wait…_something flickered behind Kagome's panic, _another demon? Where on earth are all of them coming from?_ Despite knowing what she was facing, she still couldn't get her legs to move anywhere but backwards.

"Now don't be like that, I'm sure you'll find it quite interesting to have me for a hus…hus…" His expression suddenly changed from dangerous to amused as he burst out into laughter.

Kagome just gaped in shock. _What on earth is wrong with him?_

"I can't believe you believed that," the demon managed to get out between laughter. "Oi…you humans are so gullible."

"So…so you aren't going to kill me? Or…or kidnap me?" Kagome asked weakly.

The demon snorted. "I only kill if something attacks me first. And what use would I have for a human girl? I was just joking as far as the whole mating thing goes." He looked at her thoughtfully. "Although you now know there are demons back here…" He shrugged. "Eh, one of the others might do something, but I don't think it's a problem. My maze illusion keeps any humans confused, and since most don't believe in us anymore, if you tell anyone they'll just think you're making things up."

"Not everyone doesn't believe in demons."

He shrugged again. "Not enough for any of us to be concerned about, and we have our ways of hiding." He waved a hand absentmindedly. "There…now you and your companions will be able to get out without too much trouble." He gave a small bow. "If you ever run into any of the others if you come back here, mention my name and they _might_ leave you alone."

He was about to turn and head off, but Kagome remembered the reason she'd gotten into this situation in the first place. "You may not be an idiotic jerk like the other demon I know, but you should return those items you stole."

The demon held up one of the toys, a joined wooden snake. "While I do admit we occasionally steal to survive, those humans didn't have a right to these in the first place. Sure I lost them a long while back, but they're still mine. Besides…childhood memories can still come in handy." The snake toy suddenly transformed into a large dragon-like creature, which lunged towards Kagome.

Giving a small shriek of panic, she forgot about the wall behind her and fell backwards…

…right into Inuyasha.

"Where the hell did you come from?" He asked, quickly pushing her back to her feet, obviously wanting to have as little body contact as possible.

"The…the dragon! Get rid of it!" She yelled, hurrying to hide behind him.

"Eh? What are you screaming about? There isn't a dragon anywhere near here."

"But…" Kagome cautiously looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, both dragon and demon had disappeared. "But…it was there…and that other demon…"

"What demon?"

Kagome turned to see Miruk and Sen heading towards them. "What were you talking about, Kagome?"

"I…I got lost and found that person from the shop. But…" She blinked for a moment as she realized that the one she'd followed had disappeared. _Another illusion?_ She shook her head to get back on track. "But he saw me and said his name was Shippou and called himself the Tokyo trickster or something like that. But he was a demon! One who can cast illusions or something similar because he was able to make a double of himself and said he was the one who made everyone get lost in this area, and then he made one of those toys into a dragon and…well then I found myself here. He said we could now leave without getting lost…"

"Did you see any tails?" Sen asked as soon as Kagome stopped talking.

Everyone blinked at her. After all, it seemed to be a pretty random question.

"Eh…well…I thought for a moment I saw something like that," Kagome replied after a moment.

"Kitsune." Sen replied immediately. "Although he must have been hiding his other tails. Illusions of this caliber couldn't have been managed by a young one-tail."

More staring.

"You sure you're not a taijiya?" Inuyasha asked, "They're the only humans I know of that know so much about demons."

Sen was quiet for a moment before replying, a little distantly. "I've just been interested in the subject ever since I was little."

"Besides, the legendary taijiya were a myth," Miruk explained, "and even if they were real, then according to the story, the entire tribe was wiped out around five hundred years ago."

"They die off or something?"

"So they were real?"

"I never saw one myself, but I did meet some people who did."

"But then they could be exaggerated stories of just a few skilled demon slayers."

"Feh…highly doubt it."

As Miruk and Inuyasha kept debating, Kagome noticed Sen looking uncomfortable and withdrawn, as if she didn't want to interrupt, but wanted the subject to change.

"We should start heading back," she spoke up, "We've been out for several hours now, and I'm sure everyone's worried where we are."

Inuyasha and Miruk looked over. "You are probably right Kagome," Miruk agreed.

Inuyasha however looked as stubborn as usual. "Why can't I just stay back here with this kitsune friend of yours?"

Kagome glared. "I don't trust you loose in the city."

"But that old man'll throw things at m-"

"Osa-"

"Fine! Fine! I'm coming."

Sen nodded. "I'll leave you here then. I need to go back to the shop for my bike."

Kagome and Miruk said their own farewells before heading back towards what they hoped was the exit, Inuyasha following them dejectedly and muttering under his breath.

They found the exit quite easily and were about to leave the back streets when Inuyasha froze, sniffing at the air.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked when she realized that the hanyou had stopped following. "If this is some sort of protest to let you stay, I already said-"

"Youkai. Dangerous ones."

"Eh?"

Now that Inuyasha had mentioned it, Miruk could almost _feel_ a sense of some sort that indicated something, as Inuyasha put it, dangerous, was approaching.

All three of them suddenly looked back the way they came as a loud yell cut through the air.

"That sounded like…"

"…Sen!"

Miruk ran off first, followed shortly by Kagome and Inuyasha.

Thanks to Shippou's maze illusion being lifted, they were able to navigate much easier this time, and in almost no time at all they found her sprawled on the ground, unconscious, in one of the wider streets. Miruk and Kagome were about to run over to see what was wrong, but Inuyasha grabbed them both and pulled them around a corner.

"Idiots…I know humans are blind, but I know your eyes aren't that bad. Look before jumping in."

They carefully looked around the corner and this time saw that Inuyasha had meant.

Two people were standing near Sen. Well, one was standing and the other was bent over her. The standing was a woman who seemed only a few years older than Kagome, around Miruk's age. Her back was turned to them so all Kagome could see was her dark hair, pulled into a high knot and decorated with a sort of feather ornament, and her outfit, a red silken dress similar to what one might find at a party. The odd thing was that she was tapping an old-fashioned fan against her side impatiently. The other, who seemed to be inspecting Sen's face, was closer to Kagome's age and dressed in her school's uniform. However, Kagome had a feeling it was stolen as she was certain she would have remembered a boy who looked like him, with pale purple eyes and hair. Not to mention the unearthly pale skin.

"Those're the demons I smelt earlier," Inuyasha muttered.

"Then do something to help her," Miruk hissed back, sounding really concerned for Sen's safety.

"Feh…not my responsibility to save every little human who needs help."

"Why you…" Miruk almost dashed out himself but Kagome threw out a hand, remembering what the kitsune had said earlier.

"Hang on, let me try something," she whispered before stepping out and approaching the demons. "Oi! Could you…" she hesitated as both of them turned to look at her. The younger's gaze was especially unnerving. "Could you please leave her alone? We know one of the demons in this area, a kitsune named Shippou."

The younger smirked. "We have no association with kitsune's of any name. No need to worry about them either since there hasn't been any stronger than a six-tail in over a hundred years."

"But…" _Okay, this might be a problem._

"You on the other hand, we're quite interested in," he continued, raising up a glaive she hadn't noticed he was holding and advanced a few steps.

_Maybe these are the ones who're behind the disappearances._

"You sure she's the one this time? I'm sick of wandering this oversized city." The woman complained, snapping open her fan.

_Yeah…I think that confirms it._

"Leave Kagome-chan and Sen-san alone!" Miruk stepped out of hiding, followed by Inuyasha. Even though he could care less what happened to the humans, any excuse to get his fighting skills back into shape after a five hundred year slumber was a good enough excuse for him.

"Ah…the preistess' hanyou companion," the boy said with a nod towards Inuyasha, "I'm sure our master will be quite interested in you. As for the other…" He looked at Miruk curiously, "You look quite familiar as well…" He snapped his fingers, "Ah yes, that monk's reincarnation."

Miruk and Kagome both froze. _So…those dreams really were past memories?_

Inuyasha stepped forward, cracking his knuckles. "I have no idea how you know me, but if it's a fight you're looking for, I'm ready."

"You plan to attack us unarmed? Very well. Kagura?"

"The woman smirked as she lifted up her fan and gave it a wave. "Fuujin no Mai!"

Curved blades seemed to appear from the edge of her fan and soared towards Miruk and Inuyasha. The first dived out of the way, but the later simply braced himself and held up his arms to block them. The blades cut into his sleeves and sides before dissipating. They did leave marks, some bleeding, but in some places there wasn't a single scratch and Kagome remembered how strong the fire rat cloth was when she had first found it.

"Heh, that all you can do?" Inuyasha asked, "I've got my own version of that trick." He dug his own nails into one of the cuts before flinging the blood towards the woman. "Hijin Kessou!"

She sent another wave of wind blades to intersect with the attack, as well as another one to follow right behind it.

Meanwhile, Miruk has run over to Kagome and grabbed her arm. "Can you get to Sen and try to help her out of here if I distract the other one?"

"I…I can try," she replied hesitantly.

"You don't have much battle experience do you?" Without either of them noticing, the other demon had come over behind them. "Rule one: Never keep your back open."

Miruk tried to turn and push Kagome behind him for safety.

But the demon moved with a speed to rival Inuyasha's and jabbing the staff end of the glaive into Miruk's stomach and the flat of the blade against his head, the young man was down and out almost instantly. "Rule two: take the strongest out first." His attention was now on Kagome. She tensed up, ready to try and dodge. "Rule three: Collect your reward when all threats are gone."

"All threats aren't gone; Inuyasha can still take you easily." Kagome protested, sounding more confident than she felt.

"Going after Kagura barehanded? He doesn't stand a chance." Halfway through what he'd been saying, he swung the glaive's flat side towards Kagome's head, but she surprised herself by actually dodging it. However, the young demon kicked out at her legs, knocking her to the ground. Before she had a chance to try and get back up, a surge of pain erupted in the back of her head and she slumped back down, unconscious.

Seeing this, Inuyasha felt his fury rise. He didn't know why since he hated the girl, but he later convinced himself that his subconscious had pulled up a distant memory of Kikyou, and because of their similarities, he had acted on that.

"Bastard!" He yelled, turning his back on the wind demon and leaping for the other.

He didn't notice the slight nod the younger gave the older, but he did notice the purple barrier that sprang up in front of him. He skidded to the ground to prevent crashing into it. "Coward!" He yelled, seeing Kagome and Miruk inside, Sen a few feet behind the back half of the barrier. "Why not face me? Can't hurt anything but defenseless humans?"

He'd been about to try and shatter the barrier with his attacks, but the storm came out of nowhere. Small tornados touched down around him. He might have stood a chance had it not taken him by surprise, but trying to survive the biting, thrashing winds that were swirling around and occasionally a lot of his strength was lost. Squinting, he could make out the barrier, the hair of those inside not even lightly played with by the winds around them.

When the winds died down, Inuyasha was dropped to the ground, growling weakly. He struggled to get up, but before he had a chance to do anything, the glaive flashed and the other demon had both of the hanyou's arms pinned to the ground, skewered by the blade.

"Tsk tsk. We want you alive for now. Don't kill yourself by trying to attack us again." He gave the hanyou a strong hit to the side of his head, enough so that Inuyasha was balanced on the edge of consciousness and unconsciousness.

The wind demon walked over to look down at the hanyou. "Huh…would have thought he would have put up more of a fight."

"I'm sure being sealed for five hundred years had something to do with it," Akago replied unconcernedly, "Plus he's only half demon. Wouldn't have made a difference." He jerked his head towards Kagome and Miruk. "Take those two. I need to be in contact with this one if I need to look into his heart in order to subdue him if he comes to."

Kagura made a face, obviously annoyed at being ordered around by someone younger, or should be younger, than her, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. "And the other girl?" she asked, pointing towards where Sen lay.

Akago looked over, obviously thinking. "Take her with us. The humans will eventually find the bodies of those we mistook for our actual targets. The more corpses there are, the more suspicious the humans will become, not to mention the demons who's territory we're intruding on." He shrugged. "We can deal with her when we get back home."

Kagura sighed. "Fine, but you'll have to take someone else in that purple bubble of yours. I can only manage two extra people."

"Fine…I'll take the monk," he muttered, naming the captive closest to him, "But hurry it up, Naraku-sama's already getting impatient with how long this has taken us." The shield re-formed around him, Inuyasha, and Miruk, but this time it formed a whole sphere, lifting the three of them off the ground and into the sky.

Muttering under her breath about 'being bossed around by a brat,' Kagura dragged Sen over near Kagome. Removing a feather from her hair, she tossed it upwards. A strong wind blew, and the three of them were suddenly traveling after Akago and his captives on a much larger version of the tossed up feather.

Three unnoticed figures lurking in the shadows of an intersecting alleyway slunk away. "You really think Shippou'd be interested in some mere humans?" one grumbled.

"He was talking to them earlier," one of the other two pointed out, "besides; I'm more concerned about those demons. I haven't smelt that scent in years. And if I'm right…we might be facing troubled times ahead."


	12. Modern Day Demons

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, although I guess I could claim the alterations to Shippou, Sango, and Miroku…muses But anyways, I _do_ own Karuka. Fyliwion owns Seirune, and Joat owns Isa.

**Author's Note:** In this chapter, as noted above, I will be introducing some original characters. Before I get flamed or anything, THESE ARE NOT MARY SUES! I know some people out there seem to think that all original characters that appear in fanfiction are Mary Sues, and I do admit Karuka (as many of my other fandom-based characters) did start out as one, but I gave them all major fix-ups and they are now far from it. In fact, this is most likely the only chapter they will be appearing in…I haven't decided if they might pop up briefly later. Well anyways, one more thing before you get onto the story, I have some character sketches up of some of the characters, if your interested in seeing them, in my DA scraps gallery. I don't remember if Karuka and Seirune are up yet…but if they aren't they should be soon. Also, I'll give cookies to name what anime series I pay tribute to in this chapter.

**Chapter 11: Modern Day Demons**

Shippou sat on one of his favorite vantage points for watching the sunset. He still had a few hours to go, but was having fun messing around with his newly re-acquired toys and fondly remembering his younger years and his parents. _You know…these actually might come in handy for defending our territory…_he mused, trying the dragon trick he had used on the human girl earlier. He laughed. _Hard to imagine I could only make this look several times larger, but then again, I gained my other tails after I lost these, so I never had a chance to try it._

He suddenly felt the wind pick up around him and he sniffed at the air. "Hey Seirune…Karuka…Isa…" He didn't even bother turning around for visual confirmation that the other three demons were there.

"Shippou, we might have a problem," one of them spoke as soon as they approached. This was Seirune. She looked human enough, which could be blamed on the fact she was a hanyou rather than a youkai. The only exceptions were the tabby-colored ears and tail she possessed, marking her youkai relations as cat demons. Se was able to easily venture out into human territory with her tail wrapped around her waist as a belt and a bandana over her ears. Next to Shippou, she had the easiest time melding in with humans when the need arose.

"If you're talking about the humans from earlier, I dealt with them already." Shippou replied, reclining back on his arms. "Honestly, you and Karuka are only a century older than me, and yet you act like paranoid ancients."

The wind picked up again as the second demon bristled, flexing her fingers as a few sparks jumped about them. "Who're you calling a paranoid ancient?" She growled. Karuka was a dangerous person to tease. It was bad enough with her fire and wind powers, but mixed with her short temper, the results could be disastrous. Back in older times, she was more emotionless, but ever since being confined to the city, and then only allowed to venture out of demon territory at night due to her markings and pointed ears, she had been growing restless and her outbursts became more frequent.

Seirune put a hand on Karuka's shoulder to calm her as the youngest of the trio spoke up. "These two seem certain that some great evil is coming…or something like that." Isa, a water demon, was about Shippou's age, maybe a year or two younger. Karuka and Seirune had become her unofficial guardians after humans had killed her parents and they found her wandering about on her own when she was very young. She'd been old enough to take care of herself for a while now, but still had a tendency to hang around the other two.

"A great evil, eh?" Shippou turned to finally look at them, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that what Seirune called me when she caught me flirting with you a year ago?"

Seirune stiffened. "Isa looked up to you and she didn't yet realize you do that with every girl you meet. I didn't want her feelings hurt."

"Yeah…but the Great Evil? How desperate were you?"

This whole exchange got a rare chuckle out of Karuka as Seirune's ears flattened with agitation. "Forget the past already, we need to worry about now."

"He already said he dealt with warning the humans away, so it's not his fault if they got themselves nabbed by others of our kind," Isa pointed out.

Shippou tsked. "Too bad…they seemed pretty decent for human folk. But I did tell them not everyone back here is willing to ignore trespassers."

Karuka shook her head. "It's not that. These demons were outsiders…not from our little 'community.'"

He shrugged it off. "So what? You know humans are constantly eating up any land they can get their hands on. Probably just some that had their homes destroyed, heard about this place, and are trying to stake a claim."

Karuka groaned. "This is why I've always hated kitsune. They cast so many stupid illusions they refuse to see past them at what is really going on."

Shippou's tails bristled and he stood up, glaring at the other demon. "For your information, my 'stupid illusions' are what keeps us safe!"

"Yeah? Well too bad you were only a pathetic two tail when the original group met up, otherwise we might have actually had somewhere of our own instead of being restricted to a few blocks of human city backstreets!"

Isa took a few steps backwards as Shippou growled and the warning signs of Karuka's powers stared up again.

Seirune, however, stepped between them, arms spread out. "Stop it! Both of you! We already lost Kai and Shin when they went at it three months ago, and there's too few of us to loose anymore if we are to keep hiding."

The tense air continued for a few minutes before the two began to relax.

"Alright then," Shippou said, still with a slight growl in his voice, "just tell me what the deal is with these outsiders."

Seirune sighed, glad that this finally seemed to be getting somewhere. "You and Isa might be too young to remember this clearly, but there used to be a powerful demon. Went by the name of Naraku." She shudder, "Most humans think that we're 'evil,' and usually that's just because of differences, killing to survive, or just disagreements between the two species. But him? I have to agree with them when it came to Naraku."

"He simply wanted power and didn't care who all was destroyed in order to obtain it," Karuka added, "He exterminated hundreds of people, humans and demons alike. Many fled, others fought…either way, we became to be glad that the Shikon Jewel had disappeared."

Something fluttered at the back of Shippou's memory. "Wasn't that some sort of gem that granted demons immense powers?"

Isa nodded. "I remember some old stories, but as you said, it disappeared before Shippou and I were born. And so did this Naraku since you're talking about him in past tense."

Seirune shifted nervously as Karuka answered. "Yes…we did think that. The last I heard of him was about a century ago…maybe a century and a half."

"Then what's the problem?"

Seirune picked up the explanation. "Every so often, some demons who'd smell and feel identical to him would show up to do his dirty work. They were…they were him, yet not."

Shippou and Isa blinked, confused.

Seirune tried to think of a better way to explain it. "We thought maybe he could shape shift, actually, he could in the first several years he made himself known, but these…they were like, a _part_ of him, but of course they were separate beings." She shrugged, "I guess the best way to describe them would be his 'children' although even then, I don't know if that's the right word."

Shippou started to piece things together. "So these outsiders…you think they are the children of Naraku?"

The two older demons nodded.

"But you said Naraku disappeared. They could just be acting on their own. You know half of the human's missing persons reports are demons' faults."

"We disappeared ourselves, didn't we?" Seirune pointed out, "he was certainly powerful enough that he could hide himself from other demons as well as humans. And if he's back now, we could be in huge trouble."

"Why are you telling me this first then?" Shippou asked, "Shouldn't you be discussing this with the other elders? The ones who actually remember Naraku well?"

"You are one of the ones mainly involved in our 'security system,'" Isa pointed out.

Karuka nodded. "That is a reason, but not the main one. "She paused. "Do you know anything…interesting about the humans from earlier?"

Shippou shrugged. "One was actually a hanyou and I believe one of the females is who Kirara went to go live with." He thought for a moment. "I thought I might have felt a very faint spiritual aura from the other two, but I overheard them mention something about a shrine, so it could just be lingering from when they were last there." Another shrug. "Just saw them today, had a little fun, then sent them on their way. What does it matter if they've been killed?"

"Naraku never did anything he couldn't benefit from," Seirune explained, "For him to come out of hiding to hunt down a group of humans and a hanyou, something must be important about them, whether it's to add more power to his or eliminate a potential threat."

"Well, as you pointed out," Shippou said with yet another shrug, clearly not worried about the situation, "you said the two made off with them weren't him personally, so-"

"They don't have hearts," Seirune interrupted, "or at least according to one of the elders who had a close encounter with one of them years ago. So I don't think they can act without being told to."

Shippou rolled his eyes. "You _think_? Great. Something we should fear is based on theories and coincidences." He shook his head, "I'll wait until I have some proof in front of me before I start to panic and run around in circles, waving my arms above my head and blubbering."

Karuka narrowed her eyes. "We aren't asking you to believe us, so stop with the sarcasm. We just wanted to get some damn information about the blasted humans before we reported this to the others!" She stormed off, the wind catching her as she dropped off the edge of the building.

Seirune sighed. "Are you sure you didn't notice anything else about them?"

The kitsune shrugged, eyes back on the sky. The cat hanyou nodded, before bounding off after her companion.

This left Isa. The young youkai knelt down next to the kitsune, watching the horizon with him for a few moments.

"You know Karuka's just upset because she really hasn't been allowed out of our territory for a few years," she said after a while. "A lot of us are feeling it…but what can we do? It's the humans' world now."

Shippou didn't reply.

"Just so you know it has nothing to do with you personally." She stood up. "I'd stay longer, but I'd promised Ichi and Hei that I'd meet up with them. Later."

"See ya," Shippou muttered.

With a nod, Isa disappeared.

Shippou sighed and fell backwards, laying on the roof of the building. "What do I care about some stupid humans or long gone demons?" he muttered, closing his yes.

He wasn't sure how long he'd laid like that, but the next thing he knew, something was standing over him, batting gently at his head.

"If that's you again Tori, I swear I'm going to-" However he cut off after opening his eyes to see it wasn't the troublesome youngster. Instead, large red eyes stared back at him. "Oh, Kirara!" He sat up with a grin, reaching out to scratch the creature behind the ears. He'd met her several centuries ago, weak and poisoned from some sort of battle. He'd assumed she'd gotten mixed up with the taijiya since he'd found her in the area they were rumored to live in. Or used to live in as news of their destruction reached his and his father's ears a day or so later. Whatever happened, Kirara stayed with them, occasionally wandering off, but always coming back. Shippou had been especially grateful for her company when his father had passed on. However, this had been the longest she'd been away, and after looking for her, Shippou had discovered she'd taken up residence in a human household.

"So…your 'owner' abandon you?"

Kirara growled in annoyance, but underneath was the faint trace of something among the lines of sadness or worry. Nobody in the 'community' could understand what she said exactly, but Shippou, who'd known her longest, and most of the other animal related demons were able to pick up on her tone and figure out her thoughts from there.

Shippou frowned, realizing that something had her panicked. "Your human's missing? You sure she finally didn't get rid of you?" Another growl. "Alright…alright, she's still taking care of you then." _So maybe that really was the same human girl from earlier. _"I'm sorry Kirara, but some demons took off with some humans earlier…I think your Son…eh…San….whatever the girl's name was, was with them."

Another worried noise came from the large cat demon and she moved over towards the edge of the building, looking back at Shippou with a look he knew quite well.

"What? You want me to help you find her?" He sighed and moved next to her so he could climb on her back. He could have easily transformed into something and flown himself, but he needed to be able to maintain an illusion over Kirara to hide her from human eyes, not to mention still have enough power to keep up the maze illusion back here. "You're lucky I like you so much, anyone else and I'd insist just let the humans fend for themselves." He shook his head. "Honestly, what happened to our original rule of leaving humans alone and not interfering with them? And I'm not complaining just about you," he reassured her, shifting his weight so he was more comfortable, "Seirune and Karuka too. They came by earlier, worried about those humans I mentioned earlier potentially being taken by some demon called Naraku."

He was almost thrown off by the sudden force of Kirara leaping into the air. After gripping tighter and regaining his balance, Shippou could sense a flame of anger now mixed into her thoughts.

"Oi, you heard of him too?" He asked, a little surprised, although then realized that since Kirara was quite old, she would certainly remember people from back then. "You must have had an actual encounter with him to be so angry." He paused, thinking. "Is that why you're so worried about your human? Just incase he is back like Seirune and Karuka claim?"

Kirara didn't respond, but she didn't have to for Shippou to know he was right.

He sighed. _I really don't want to get too involved with humans…they've despised us since the beginning of time. Not to mention it's against our rules to interact with them outside what is necessary…_Shippou had a sense of good behavior for a kitsune as far as demons' rules went, and preferred to follow old laws and traditions rather than bend them to changing times. After all, he was one of the few demons that still wore yukatas and armor rather than adopt human fashions.

After having a long mental debate with himself, he finally leaved forward so Kirara could hear him better. "Alright then, where shall we look first?"


	13. Evil Unveiled

**Author's Note:** Whoot! I'm not dead despite college's attempts to do so! So umm...not many notes to make about this chapter actualy...so enjoy!

Chapter 12: Evil Unveiled

Kagome came to to the sounds of Inuyasha's cursing and growling, only dimly remembering what had happened. She struggled to sit up, but a wave of pain and dizziness spread through her head, forcing herself to lie back down before she had a chance to observe her surroundings.

"Don't force yourself," Sen's voice came out of the darkness, "Give your body a chance to take account of where it's injured."

"Where did you learn all this?" This time Miruk's voice. "Not just the first aid, but you're tolerating your own pain rather well."

"I've studied various forms of martial arts. You get used to it after a while." There was a pause. "So I may assume that your other friend is another demon?"

Kagome's eyes flashed back open. "How did you know?!"

Sen smiled slightly. "Normal clothing do not a human make, and since he lost that charming baseball cap when we were caught, his ears are now quite visible." She pointed to something behind Kagome. "Even if I assumed that the person dressed up as a demon at the festival was simply that, his persistence and strength is proving to be quite inhuman."

Her body now accustomed to the pain in her head, Kagome managed to sit up and look around.

It was extremely dark, the only light was coming from a single, flickering torch in the hallway, casting shadows from the bars across the room's entryway; obviously a cell. She could dimly make out Miruk and Sen sitting nearby, but at first didn't see Inuyasha.

However, when she turned in the direction Sen was looking a few moments earlier, she realized why he was making such a fuss. He was isolated in a small space in the corner of the cell, separated form the other three by a transparent, slightly glowing, purple barrier of some sort. To Kagome, it simply looked like purple light, but it was obviously quite solid, proven by Inuyasha hitting it with all he could.

Once he was aware of Kagome watching him, he suddenly stopped and sat down, obviously sulking.

"I'm sure _you're_ happy I'm in this situation…'under control'…" Obviously sound could still pass through even if physical objects couldn't.

Kagome would have stormed over to yell at him if she didn't suddenly become aware of the heavy weight on one of her legs, presumably a manacle judging by the cold, iron feel. She also considered sitting him, but decided the entire situation was punishment enough.

So she simply replied, "I might…if I wasn't in the same situation."

"At least you have room to move."

"Not really," Miruk interrupted. Kagome could make out him moving, accompanied by a clinking sound. "These chains aren't very long. Besides, what could we do? Sure the bars are wooden, but they seem pretty sturdy. I'm sure you're the only one who could-"

"You're' bleeding!" Kagome suddenly interrupted, noticing the dark smears on Inuyasha's arms and hands.

He barely glanced down, shrugging it off. "Give it a few hours…they'll heal up soon enough."

"I told you not to move around so much," Sen replied just as calmly. "You seem to have re-opened those injuries he gave you."

"I've been through worse. I told you, they just need a few hours."

Kagome was shocked they could be taking it this calmly. If it was her that was bleeding like that…

Sen seemed to sense what she was thinking. "Demons are able to withstand injuries better than we are, even hanyous like him. Their bodies respond quickly, and it takes a faction of the time to heal as it would take our bodies."

"But he's still hurt," Kagome said, sounding a little less worried, but still worried just the same.

"What can you do about it?" Miruk asked, "That barrier isn't just to keep him in, it's to keep us out as well."

"Have you even tried?" she snapped, forcing herself to stand and head towards the hanyou.

"No, but that's because we can't get close enough," Miruk informed her, a little too late as Kagome reached the end of the chain and almost tripped forward.

"I didn't ask for this!" she yelled, sitting down where she stood, "The hardest thing I was supposed to go through was getting into a good high school! Now I have to deal with demons, memory-dreams of a past life, being kidnapped…and figuring out what on earth I did to hurt myself!" she finished as her side decided to give a relatively nasty throb. She whipped her head around to glare at Inuyasha again. "This is all your fault!"

"How the hell is it my fault?" Inuyasha yelled back. "You're the one who unsealed me. Then if we bring your charming past self into the picture, Kikyou's the one who attacked me first!"

"You did!" Kagome continued to yell, standing up again in her frustration.

"Even if I did," Inuyasha growled, also standing up so that he was eye level with her, "Kikyou had the chance to kill me! If she had, your problems would be over, so blame yourself!"

"And I'd heard you two got along so well."

Everyone's gaze was now directed toward the front of the cell. The youth from before stood on the other side of the bars, smirking.

Inuyasha's growling intensified and Miruk stepped to the front, putting himself between Akago and the two girls.

"But then again, you two had parted rather unhappily, correct? So I guess it would stand to reason you despise each other."

"Why are you keeping us here?" Miruk asked, an edge to his voice.

"You? Actually…you and the brown haired female I'm sure are just here for my master's amusement. That and we couldn't leave behind any witnesses." He laughed, "Our main targets were the hanyou and the priestess…actually, mainly the priestess."

Kagome felt herself grow pale. "If this is because of Kikyou, just because I seem to be a reincarnation of her does not mean that I'm identical! I'm not a priestess!"

Akago shrugged. "Alright, maybe you aren't identical to her, but the fact is you still are her reincarnation…" he trailed off, leering.

"What use would you, or your master, need for a long dead priestess' reincarnation?" Sen asked, still sounding relatively calm despite the situation. "Revenge?"

Akago laughed. "Hardly. He had his revenge centuries ago."

"Then what-"

"I'll let him tell you. After all, I was sent down to summon you."

"Make us." Inuyasha replied promptly, the threat very obvious. "You can't handle all of us."

Akago nodded. "You're right. Since I need to keep you alive, bringing you along is my limit. This is why I brought my darling younger sister to help. Kanna?"

He moved to the side to allow a girl a few years older than him to step forward. She was white. Not just her clothing, but her skin, hair…everything except her eyes. Those were jet black and empty. Like a void. She held a mirror in front of her.

Inuyasha snorted. "What do you expect a frail looking girl like that to do anything about it?"

Akago didn't answer, but the girl instead held up the mirror.

Kagome tried to see what was happening over Miruk's shoulder. She caught a glimpse of the mirror's reflection seemingly zooming in on Miruk's and Sen's faces, then a pale light.

"You have them?" Akago asked.

"Yes," the girl replied softly.

"Good. Have them escort our guest upstairs while I keep the hanyou in check."

Before Kagome could react, Miruk and Sen had grabbed hold of her arms, their eyes as blank as the girl's.

"What did you do to them?" she asked, struggling. However she learned that both were much stronger than her.

"Just relieved them of their souls for the time being." Akago replied calmly as he tossed a key to Miruk, who promptly started unlocking the chains holding him, Sen, and Kagome.

Kagome looked stunned. Of course more than enough of the old myths and legends involved possession by demons, stealing, or even eating human souls, but the demons she'd met before didn't seem capable of that power. As a result she assumed that the stories were just that, stores. But now she was faced with proof that indicated otherwise.

Even so, she still tried to disbelieve as the two started to pull her out of the cell and down to the exit. "Miruk! Sen! Listen to me! You're…you're just…hypnotized! Yes, that's it! Come on, you can snap out of it! You ca-"

A strong blow to the chest from Sen knocked the wind out of her, leaving Kagome stunned and breathless.

Akago nodded. "Good. That takes care of the nose." He turned to the last captive. "It's your turn then."

"I'm not going anywhere, bastard!" the hanyou growled.

"From what I've heard of your family, that name might fit you better," the youth replied cheerfully. "And as far as going somewhere, I'm going to have to insist. After all, its bad manners to keep one's host waiting."

Inuyasha didn't move, his glare and growling an obvious sign he wasn't going to budge.

Akago shook his head. "Fine. If you insist on the hard way." The barrier around Inuyasha pulled outwards, forming behind and underneath him in the process until he was encased in a sphere of the purple light. The barrier sphere was also levitating only a few centimeters off the ground, so he had nothing to brace himself against from moving.

Inuyasha's cursing and growling echoed through the halls as Akago lead him up through the castle. However, the hanyou did take note that the building seemed to be in the style of his own time period, despite being in a different era.

Eventually, the maze of hallways opened up into a large front hall, almost reminiscent of a throne room. It was dimly lit, with most of the shadows gathered at the other end of the room. Scattered throughout were pillars, either for decoration or support, and when Inuyasha and Akago arrived, Kagome, Miruk, and Sen were all bound to a cluster of four near the shadowed area. Judging from the looks on their faces, Miruk and Sen both had had their souls returned to them. Sen also appeared to be apologizing to Kagome, probably for hitting her so hard.

Akago set Inuyasha down next to them, still in the barrier bubble, before moving in front of the shadows and bowing. "Those you ordered us to track are here, Naraku-sama."

The captured four watched silently as a figure approached from the shadows. At first, he looked like a normal man with long, black hair, however his eyes were too cold to be a humans. As the rest of him appeared, garbed in ancient armor with spikes and dragon tails attached, Kagome shivered at the feeling that came with him. His appearance was frightening enough, but it was almost as if he were smothered in a thick blanket of an evil aura. Seeing the slightly nauseous look on Miruk's face and the uneasy tensing of Inuyasha, Kagome realized they could sense it too. She figured Sen wasn't reacting as much because she didn't mention or show spiritual or demonic senses.

A cruel smile played across the demon's face as he approached his prisoners. "How wonderful it is for us all to meet again after all these centuries…monk…taijiya…hanyou…" His gaze lingered longest on Kagome, giving her chills. "Priestess…"

"I don't know you bastard from anywhere!" Inuyasha growled. Kagome agreed, but had a feeling this was more about Kikyou than herself.

However, Miruk and Sen paled slightly as their dream-memories surfaced. He may have looked different, but they recognized those cold eyes devoid of feeling.

"You're the same demon who killed my brother!" Sen yelled.

_Funny…I thought Sen was an only child…_

The demon laughed. "As, so you remember that. Well, if I remember correctly, it was your weapon that actually ended his life," he sneered. "And he's not your brother in this life, so what value does his life have to you?"

"A life is still a life! No one has the right to go manipulating others!"

He pretended to not hear her. "If the taijiya remembers, then I wonder if the others do as well. Such as you," he turned his attention to Miruk. "Do you recall the kazaana?"

Miruk didn't recognize the word, but had the memory of the feeling of being pulled into an empty void came back to him and he knew exactly what the demon was talking about.

"And then, my favorite couple…the dog and his bitch. Or maybe the priestess and her pet?" he leered, almost proudly, at the two of them. "Your end had to have been one of the best I'd orchestrated."

"What the hell are you talking about? Kikyou killed me, not some stinking demon."

The eyes grew colder as they flashed with anger. "She didn't kill you though, did she? No…the fool still had compassion for you even after you betrayed her and she simply sealed you. And then she proceeds to ruin my plans entirely by bringing the Shikon Jewel with her."

_This story is matching with my dream memories perfectly,_ Kagome realized, _but why do some parts of it also match up with Inuyasha's story?_

"Is that why you've brought us here? Just to continue making us suffer from our past lives? Why worry about it? We didn't even know of your existence until now." Miruk pointed out.

"Your lives mean nothing to me. Even back then, I was simply ridding myself of a few irritations. I'm more interested in what your priestess has."

"Too scared to protest she wasn't a priestess, Kagome now realized the entirety of his attention was on her. "I don't…don't have anything."

"You most certainly do. You may not have been aware of it all this time, but your soul has protected it ever since Kikyou passed into the next world. But, I'm certain a mortal body could only keep it within itself for so long." He smirked. "Allow me to rid you of such a burden."

Before anyone could react, not that they could do anything about it in the first place, Naraku flung an arm towards Kagome, the lower half warping and shifting into what looked like a flesh colored talon, before digging into Kagome's side.

She yelled in pain, not noticing the small, blood speckled stone that fell out of the wound.

Miruk started intently at the stone. _It can't be…_

Sen hardly noticed it, her attention more focused on Kagome's injury, struggling against her chains. _She can loose a lot of blood if we can't get out of this in time…_

A look of hunger and greed came across Inuyasha's face even as he fought with the part of his mind that was angered by the fact that Kagome was hurt.

The same expression flared up in Akago's eyes, except without any trace of sympathy for the human girl.

Kanna remained expressionless.

What looked like triumph appeared on Naraku's face. "At long last…all these centuries of waiting…" The limp that had injured Kagome lowered to pick the gem up, but recoiled as it lit up with a flash of bright light. "Of course…all these years inside of here, it _would_ be too pure." He turned to the pale girl as his arm returned to normal. "Kanna, please hold onto it for now. We can work on it later."

"But Naraku-sama," Akago spoke up, "aren't you worried that with the Jewel she'll-"

Naraku cut him off with a glare. "Did I address you? No. And you have nothing to worry about. After all, anything times nothing is still nothing."

Akago looked medley irritated about something but didn't speak again. Kanna meanwhile had aimed the mirror at the Jewel, where it faded and disappeared, reappearing as a reflection in her mirror. Without a word, she then turned and left the hall.

Naraku's attention went back to Kagome as he reached out and titled Kagome's chin up. The pain in her side made it impossible to struggle. "And lucky me. Since it seems I have no need to trick you two into killing each other again, I'll have the pleasure of dealing with you personally." Instantly his hand was around her neck.

Various yells were heard from her companions, although Naraku simply smirked.

Kagome tried to gasp for air, but nothing was able to reach her lungs and her sight was beginning to grow blurry.

"Master?" Naraku turned his attention to Kanna, who had reappeared and spoken up, and his hold on Kagome loosened somewhat.

He didn't notice the chains around Miruk and Sen unbind themselves for a moment before returning to normal.

"There are intruders trying to get into the castle."

Naraku narrowed his eyes, now completely letting go of Kagome, who hung against her chains gasping for breath. "I want to savor your death priestess. You shall die once the intruders are dealt with," he told the girl before turning his attention to his two underlings. "Akago, go take care of them."

The youth gave a quick bow before leaving.

Kanna spoke up. "Are you not going to take care of them yo-"

Her voice was cut off as one of Naraku's arms shifted and he impaled her through the chest.

"Obviously an impromptu rescue since you didn't bother learning about your disguise target beforehand." He said dryly. "Isn't that right, kitsune?" As he turned back around, Kanna disappeared to be replaced by a small doll looking figure which crumbled as it fell off of his arm.

Shippou didn't bother to finish picking Kagome's lock as he'd done for Miruk and Sen. Quickly he discarded the pick and dropped the illusion that made it seem like the two humans were still chained to the pillars, concentrated, and then sent a large handful of blue fire at Kagome's chains. When the metal weakened, he was able to break the chains and hand Kagome off to Miruk. "You two go. Someone's waiting to take you back."

Without needing to be told twice, Miruk and Sen bolted for the exit.

"You won't even make it that far," Naraku said coldly, sending his arm hurtling towards the three humans. Shippou tried to stop it in time, but knew it was no use.

He wasn't counting on the blur to cleave its way through the limb.

"Keep away from them," a now free Inuyasha growled. He didn't know why he was being so protective. It was just instinct.

Naraku narrowed his eyes. "If you're free, then Akago's…" He laughed coldly. "It doesn't matter. I have what I want, I can take my time hunting and killing you." He spread his arms mockingly. "Unless you wish to die now by attacking me?"

"I'll take you up on your offer, but I'm not dying anytime soon!" Inuyasha lunged at Naraku, claws at the ready. He expected an attack…from Naraku at least.

What he wasn't expecting was for several strips of paper to shoot through the air from behind him.

"Why aren't you with the others?" He heard Shippou snap.

"Sen can take care of herself and Kagome," came Miruk's reply, "and if we don't take care of him first, he'll still come and hunt us down for fun."

This conversation only took a few seconds, during which Naraku had thrown up a barrier around himself, the sutras cracking against it.

"Are you so eager to be like your former self?" he asked, the amusement in his voice catching their attention. "Very well. You'll be able to experience what your grandfather felt when he got his."

_My grandfather? One was an accountant and the other was a lawyer_, some distant part of his mind pointed out, _they didn't deal with demons_.

This brief distraction made him unable to dodge the sutras now thrown back towards him, one piercing right through his hand.

"Aaarggghh!" Yelling in pain, he doubled over, clutching his bleeding right hand to his body.

"I told you not to come back didn't I?" Shippou yelled as he hurried over to support him. He then turned to Inuyasha. "You! Hanyou! Cover your backs," he yelled before retreating to find Kirara and the other two humans.

Inuyasha only half heard, his eyes locked with Naraku's.

Naraku leered. "I already told you I have what I want and that it'll be a simply matter to hunt you down, but again I give you the offer to attack me if you're eager to die."

"I'm not eager to die, but that's not why I'm backing out," Inuyasha snapped, before following Shippou and Miruk. _Why am I feeling so protective of these people?_

Naraku simply waited until they left, even opening an obvious gap in the barrier for them to leave through. _The chase is fun, so long as it's not dragged out. And with the Shikon Jewel, this is guaranteed to be a short hunt._ A pleased look came over his face. _And speaking of the Jewel…_

"Kanna!" He summoned, both mental and verbally.

It took her a little longer than normal to appear, but his look of triumph faded quickly once he saw the cracked mirror she held in her hands.


End file.
